Lost in the Woods
by wildlightning
Summary: Danny and Martin decide to go on a weekend hiking adventure but they run into serious trouble when they run into dangerous criminals that threaten their lives. Will they escape the wilderness with their lives or will they suffer a terrible demise?
1. Chapter 1

'Lost in the Woods'

Author's Note: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. Without A Trace belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. So, please don't sue.

Summary: Danny and Martin decide to go on a weekend hiking adventure but they run into serious trouble when they run into dangerous criminals that threaten their lives. Will they escape the wilderness with their lives or will they suffer a terrible demise? Please R and R. All feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Chapter 1

After having worked on a very difficult case for a week, nonstop, Jack told Danny and Martin that they could have the weekend off, beginning Friday. They gladly accepted as they thanked Jack and left his office completely exhausted.

"So, have you decided what you're going to do this weekend, Fitzy? Maybe get together with a couple of hot ladies. " Danny said with a yawn and then chuckled amused when Martin reddened furiously.

"Actually, I'm thinking about going hiking for the weekend. I've wanted to go for a while now but since we've been so busy here I haven't been able to. What about you? What are you going to do this weekend? I bet you've got a couple of hot dates already lined up, don't you?" Martin said with an amused grin and then chuckled at the way Danny pouted.

"Not this time. All the beautiful ladies turned down poor little me." Danny said with a pout and then grinned as he picked up his things. "Anyway, see you Monday. Have a good trip." He said kindly and then left towards the elevator.

"Danny, wait." Martin called out as he picked up his backpack and headed towards the elevator, causing him to go inside after Danny held the elevator door open. "Look, if you're really not doing anything, you're welcome to tag along for the weekend." Martin said kindly.

"I don't know, Fitzy. I mean, I don't know anything about hiking or climbing." Danny said with a mock distasteful face and then laughed when Martin glared at him crossly. "Alright, alright, I was just messing with you. I'd love to go. But tell me when, where and what to pack and I'll go." He said chuckling amused.

"Alright, pack for the weekend and I'll take care of the rest. And make sure you take either hiking boots or shoes." Martin said chuckling amused. "By the way, make sure that you're up by six a.m." He said amused and then laughed relentlessly when Danny's eyes bugged out.

"Aw, come on, Fitzy. Are you nuts? That's too early. I'm not a morning person. I like sleeping in late." Danny said a crossly tone but with a smile.

"Come on. What are you are a man or a mouse? Stop being so lazy. I'll pick you up at six-thirty, sharp. And I'm going to call you at five-thirty just to wake your lazy butt up." Martin laughed very amused.

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." Danny said with an exasperated sigh as he smiled and then chuckled amused as he and Martin shook hands and parted ways.

_FRIDAY MORNING 6:15AM…_

Danny groaned loudly and annoyed as his alarm clock shrilled loudly for the third time.

"Oh, shut up!" Danny groaned annoyed and fell asleep again after he hit the snooze button once more. But that rest was short-lived as his phone began ringing loudly. "Hello, Martin." He said annoyed when he saw the caller ID on his phone, causing him to scoff amused when Martin began laughing loudly.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. It's 6:15 and I'm just a few minutes from your apartment." Martin said laughing amused.

"You're such an ass, Fitzy." Danny chuckled incredulously. "You've still got the spare key that I gave you when I went on vacation the last time. Remember, the one that I gave you so that you could water my plants while I was gone. So, stop being lazy and let yourself inside. I'm going to go take a shower, you nerd. I'll see you here." He said crossly but with a smile as he got up from bed and grabbed his underwear and clean clothes, causing Martin to laugh hysterically.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Martin laughed amused and then ended the call, causing him to arrive at Danny's apartment ten minutes later with breakfast and let himself inside.

When he entered Danny's apartment he couldn't help but laugh quietly as he heard Danny singing in the shower. He put breakfast on the table and started a pot of coffee. But Danny hadn't realized that Martin was there as he exited the bathroom dancing and singing.

"_I believe in miracles. Where you from, you sexy thing? I believe in miracles since you came along, you sexy thing. Kiss me baby. You sexy thing. You sexy thing._" Danny sang and danced unknowingly, causing him to flinch but then redden furiously when Martin began laughing hysterically as he held his stomach.

"Ha, ha, ha! And you have the gall to call me a nerd. You sexy thing." Martin laughed hysterically as he held his stomach and tears of laughter escaped his eyes, causing him to laugh harder as Danny threw his wet towel at him.

"You jerk, I didn't know that you were here." Danny said embarrassed as he smiled.

"Well, you sexy thing, I'm here. Breakfast is on the table and I've got a pot of coffee going already." Martin teased chuckling amused as Danny sat at the table and began eating. "Here you go. This'll wake you up." Martin said amused as he gave Danny a cup of black coffee.

"Mmm. Thanks. Sit down and eat. So, where are we going?" Danny said with a yawn as they ate and drank coffee.

"We're going hiking for the weekend." Martin said smiling as they continued eating.

"I know that, you nerd. I was asking where we're going?" Danny chuckled amused.

"Oh. Well, we're hiking in the Santanoni Range in Adirondacks." Martin said kindly as he read the newspaper and drank his remaining coffee. "Before we go, though, I'm going to let Jack know where we'll be in case he needs us." Martin said kindly as he dialed Jack's number.

"Malone." Jack said a bit grumpily that someone would be calling him this early.

"Jack, it's Martin. Did I wake you?" Martin said concerned.

"No. I'm already at the office. What are you doing calling me? I told you that you had the weekend off." Jack said a bit grumpy but kindly.

"Actually, that's why I was calling you. I wanted to let you know that Danny and I are headed to the Santanoni Range in Adirondack, if you need us. We'll be back to work on Monday morning." Martin said kindly.

"Well, you're nuts for going there. You do know that they call that place pergatory or hell on earth because it's trecherious, don't you? Anyway, thanks for the call and enjoy the weekend—if you can. But I expect you here bright and early Monday morning." Jack said with a small smile.

"Thanks, Jack. We'll see you on Monday." Martin said chuckling amused and then ended the call.

"What did Jack say?" Danny said confused at Martin's reaction.

"Nothing, just to enjoy the weekend and that he expects us at work bright and early on Monday." Martin said with a smile but Danny knew that he wasn't telling the entire truth of what Jack told him. "Anyway, we've got to get going. Are you ready?" Martin said amused as he cleaned up the soiled dishes.

"Yeah. Just let me grab our stuff and we'll leave." Danny said with a yawn as he grabbed his backpack and put his shades on his head. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Fitzy? I only have extra clothes in here and a pocketknife." Danny suddenly said a bit uncertain because he didn't know anything about hiking.

"Don't worry about anything, Danny. Alright? I've got everything we need, in the car—a map, compass, extra food, water, water filters, matches, a knive, flashlights…the list goes on. Just relax. This weekend is going to be great, you'll see." Martin said caringly and they left downstairs to Martin's car, causing them to drive away.

Martin continued driving for two hours as they talked, laughed and talked about women. After what felt like forever, Danny and Martin arrived at their destination. They geared up, secured the car and began walking towards a forest ranger who was handing out flyers.

"Good morning, gentleman. What brings you here today?" The ranger said kindly.

"We're just taking on the Santanoni Range." Martin said kindly with a smile and the ranger whistled in complete surprise as he made a face.

"What?" Danny said uncertain.

"It's just that we've had a lot of people get lost and hurt out there. Just be careful and you'll be fine. And watch out for any wildlife." The ranger said kindly as he shook their hands once more.

"Thanks a lot. Take care." Martin said kindly and then he and Danny walked away.

"Martin, you're out your mind and me too for letting you bring me here. You heard what he said. You're nuts." Danny said crossly as they began walking the trail, causing Martin to smile and softly chuckle amused.

"Danny, relax. Nothing's going to happen and we're going to have a great time you'll see. So, just relax and enjoy the scenery." Martin said caringly as they contiued walking along the trail and then climbed on a bridge.

As they began their ascent, Danny and Martin couldn't begin to imagine that this was going to be an adventure that neither of them would ever forget—an adventure that would test their friendship and their will to survive.

Author's Note: The song that Danny was singing when he came out of the shower was '_I Believe in Miracles (You Sexy Thing) By: Hot Chocolate. _


	2. Chapter 2

'Lost in the Woods'

Author's Note: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. Without A Trace belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. So, please don't sue.

Chapter 2

As they began their ascent, Danny and Martin couldn't begin to imagine that this was going to be an adventure that neither of them would ever forget—an adventure that would test their friendship and their will to survive.

Danny and Martin had been walking several hours through the somewhat rough terrain. The trail was very wooded and muddy. And Danny already had several cuts on his arms and legs from falling several times. It was six in the afternoon, they hadn't eaten and they were both exhausted. So, Martin decided to set up camp for the night, causing Danny to sit on the ground, exhausted, as he momentarily removed his shoes and massaged his tired, aching feet.

"Are you okay, brother?" Martin said kindly but tiredly as he gave Danny some food and coffee from a thermos and then sat on the floor in front of Danny.

"Damn. I'm exhausted. And I'm scratched up but the view's been pretty good." Danny said with a yawn as he ate. "Are we going to keep walking?" He said with a yawn.

"No way, not tonight. We need to rest tonight and wake up early in the morning. The sooner we get up, the sooner we'll get out of here." Martin said slightly amused. "You're exhausted, aren't you?" He softly chuckled amused.

"What do you think, you smart ass?" Danny said incredulously as he smiled and then chuckled amused when Martin laughed very amused at his expense.

"Alright, tell you what. You finish eating and I'll set up camp. Deal?" Martin smiled amused.

"Deal. But finish eating first. It's still light out anyway." Danny said kindly and they both continued eating, talking and laughing for thirty minutes and then Martin set up the sleeping gear. "I swear, Martin, after today, I don't know how the hell you do all this hiking and climbing. You're nuts." Danny said with a smile and Martin chuckled amused.

"Honestly, I've never been up here. I just came up here looking for a challenge and it bit me in the ass. I wasn't expecting this peak to be this rough. So, the sooner we get up tomorrow, the sooner we'll get the hell out of this crazy hellhole." Martin chuckled amused and Danny laughed, causing them to continue talking until ten that Friday evening. "Alright, we better get some sleep now if we want to get up early. Otherwise, we're going to be stuck out here longer." Martin said amused.

"Hell no! Let's go to sleep. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the view but this pretty face wasn't meant for the woods. It was meant to please all the pretty women waiting for me in the city." Danny said amused as he smiled and touched his face, causing Martin to laugh hysterically.

"Fine. Then get some sleep or you won't be pleasing anyone anytime soon." Martin said amused and they both went to sleep.

But as Danny and Martin gave in to some much needed sleep, neither man knew how much Martin's words would haunt them. They continued sleeping peacefully until one in the morning when they heard arguing and woke up.

"Do you hear that?" Danny said seriously and Martin nodded as he opened his waist pack and removed his gun.

"Did you bring yours?" Martin whispered quietly and Danny nodded as he removed the gun from his side holster.

Danny and Martin quietly made their way to the arguing as they held their guns. But as they walked, they were too late for what they heard next.

"No, please don't kill me! I won't say anything else to anyone, I swear!" A man's voice pled crying desperately as he knelt on the floor and his hands and feet were bound behind his back.

"Too late. You never should've testified against me." Another man's voice said with a sinister tranquility and then shot the young man dead.

"Freeze! FBI! Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head!" Danny and Martin yelled loudly and furiously as they aimed their guns at the six foot four inches suspect that stood before them with the gun still in his hand.

"Officers, how can I help you this evening?" The suspect, Bobby 'The Snake' Carr, said with an evil grin as he continued holding his gun.

"We're not going to tell you again! Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head!" Martin said loudly and furiously as they continued aiming their guns but the suspect just smiled.

"Drop the damn gun and put your hands on your head! Do it now!" Danny yelled angrily and loudly but the suspect began laughing loudly, causing his and Martin's heart to drop when they felt cold, hard steel on their heads as two guns were cocked.

"Hand over your guns, you pigs." Said a low, menacing voice, causing Danny and Martin to grudgingly give up their guns.

"What do you want us to do with them, boss?" Another man said seriously as they threw Danny and Martin to the ground.

"Don't ask stupid questions if you want to keep breathing. You know damn well what we do to repulsive pigs like them. Now, do it." Carr said calmly but seething and then walked away.

"Any last words, pigs?!" One man said viciously as they aimed their guns at Danny and Martin and put their fingers on the triggers.

Danny and Martin knew what was coming. But if they had to die out here in these woods, it wasn't going to be at the hands of these murderers. They had to fight for their lives. So, Danny and Martin looked at each other as they squinted. With that, they looked into the would-be murderers' eyes as they very slowly, without being noticed, picked up some mud in the palms of their hands and made two fists.

"You don't have to do this. Just turn around and leave. Forget we were ever here. As far as we can see you two haven't hurt anyone." Martin said calmly even though he knew they'd never fall for that lame ass excuse, causing him to look at Danny and give him a knowing look, when the two henchmen laughed.

"Say goodnight, pigs." Both henchmen sneered evilly as they prepared to pull the triggers, causing them to scream furiously and in agonizing pain as Danny and Martin through mud in their eyes.

"Run!" Martin yelled fearfully as he helped Danny up from the floor and they ran back towards their campsite, causing Carr and another henchman to go after them. "Let's go!" He said urgently as he grabbed a backpack and threw it across his shoulder.

"Run!" Danny said fearfully as he saw Carr coming toward them as he walked calmly.

"There's nowhere to run, pigs. You're dead." Carr said calmly as Danny and Martin began running for their lives.

They ran but not fast enough as Carr began shooting at Danny and Martin, causing Carr to laugh amused as the bullets ripped through Danny's right leg and Martin's left arm and they screamed in agonizing pain.

"Aaaaagh!" Danny screamed in agonizing pain, causing Martin to grab a tight hold of him and drag him through the wilderness, running as fast as humanly possible through the pain.

"Let's go." Carr said with an evil sneer as they calmly went after Danny and Martin.

"Aaaaagh! Fuck!" Danny quietly shrieked violently as he struggled to breathe and move any longer.

"Damn it. Come on, Danny. We can't give up now. Keep moving." Martin said fearfully as another shot rang out, causing Danny to shriek violently again as the second shot ripped through his left shoulder.

"Go, Martin! Save yourself! I can't go on!" Danny quietly shrieked violently in agonizing pain as they heard rustling behind them and he struggled to breathe and remain awake.

"Shut up! I'm not going to leave you out here alone! We're going to get through this!" Martin quietly said angrily out of pain and fear.

But as Martin said that, they began falling several feet down a steep embankment, causing them to cry out in more pain as they were hit by trees, branches and rocks.

"Aaaagh! Fuck!" Martin shrieked pained as tears stained his face and he grabbed a tight hold of Danny. "Danny!" He cried fearfully.

"I can't breathe, Fitzy." Daniel cried in excruciating pain as he shook violently and struggled to breathe.

"Where the hell did they go?" Carr said furiously from up above, causing Martin to grab a tight hold of Danny and tightly cover his mouth as he hid their bodies under some brush.

"We don't know, boss. They came this way." One man said angrily.

"They can't have gone far, boss. That's if they're still alive. They're probably already dead." The other man said breathless and angrily, causing both men to freeze in place when Carr aimed two guns at them.

"Don't be stupid. Dying pigs are the worst kind of dangerous pigs. That's when they start doing anything to survive. I should've taught you that by now. They will not leave these woods alive or it'll be your heads that I'll have over my fireplace mantle. This is the last time that you screw things up for me. Screw up again and they won't be the only ones not leaving these woods alive." Bobby 'the snake' Carr, the leader of the murderous group, said viciously as he held two cocked guns to the foreheads of Victor Nichols and David Prichard, his two worthless thugs. "Get the hell out of my face and find those miserable pigs or you're going to wish they'd killed you first." He said seething as he lowered the guns, causing Nichols and Prichard to nearly soil themselves as they left running and continued their unending search for Danny and Martin.

"Let's go back to the pig's campsite and see if we can't find out where they're headed. We have to make sure that they didn't make any calls with those phones we found back there." Max Gershon, Carr's right-hand man, said seriously, causing Carr to put a hand on his shoulder as he momentarily put his gun away.

"Max, pal, look all around us. What do you see, hmm? There are trees everywhere. I don't think they could've called anyone. And if by some slim chance they managed to call someone, we're going to get rid of them and we'll be long gone by the time anyone finds their bodies. So, don't worry about anything. Let's go." Carr said with an evil smile as they headed towards Danny and Martin's campsite, unaware that Danny and Martin were just below.

"Shhh. Don't talk, Danny." Martin whispered crying pained as he uncovered Danny's mouth, causing Danny to weakly grab a hold of his jacket.

"Fitzy, please, just go! Get out of here and save yourself!" Danny barely audible cried in excruciating pained as he struggled to breathe through the pain and remain awake.

"Shut up. Please, just shut up. We're going to get through this together, I swear." Martin cried quietly but pained as he ripped a piece of his shirt and applied pressure to Danny's leg wound, causing him to tightly cover Danny's mouth again when he quietly shrieked crying violently and shook violently for several seconds until he let his exhausted and pained body sag in defeat. "I'm sorry, brother. I had to do that to control the bleeding. Now, come on. I know that you're in pain, we both are. But we can't stay here. If we do those assholes are going to kill us." Martin cried pained but with conviction but Danny shook his head as he shook violently. "Now, I know that you're not going to stay here and disappoint all those gorgeous nurses that are going to take care of you. Are you?" He quietly chuckled crying, causing Danny to weakly laugh crying as he shook his head and grabbed a tight hold of Martin's hand.

"How much longer do we have to walk?" Danny cried weakly but in excruciating pain as he shook violently.

"I don't know, buddy. We'll have to wait until morning to find out where we are now. Come on. We have to get out here." Martin said fearfully as he stood Danny up, causing him to hold Danny tighter when he began shrieking very quietly but violently pained. "I'm sorry, brother. Come on. We'll get through this." He tried to say confidently but fear was clearly evident in his voice as they began walking again.

Danny and Martin continued walking through the excruciating pain. As much as they wanted to give in to a blissful sleep without pain, they knew that if they gave in to that peaceful slumber, they'd never make it out of those woods alive. So, on they went until neither man could move at four in the morning, causing them to hide under some fallen trees that were near a cliff and safely covered by brush so that they couldn't be seen.

"You try to get some sleep and I'll stay awake, Danny. Go ahead." Martin said caringly as he took as he ripped another piece of his shirt and applied pressure to Danny's shoulder when it wouldn't stop bleeding, causing Danny to give in a blissful sleep away from all the pain. "You just rest, kiddo. I swear that I'll get you out of here if it's the last thing I do." Martin cried quietly but with conviction and continued watching over his best friend's sleep until six a.m. that Saturday morning.

"Danny. Danny, wake up. Come on, wake up. We have to keep moving." Martin said tiredly as he carefully sat Danny up on the ground.

"Wait. Where's the backpack that you had?" Danny said with a fearful look on his face.

"I'm sorry, kiddo. I lost it when we fell down that steep embankment." Martin said with a heavy sigh.

"What are we going to do now? All our food was in there and so was our water, matches, everything." Danny said fearfully but he sounded like a child, causing Martin to worry and put a hand on his forehead.

"Damn it. You're burning up, Danny. Come on, kiddo. We've got to get you out of here. We've got to keep walking." Martin said calmly but fearfully as he stood Danny up and began walking forward again.

They began walking again with the thought that they were ahead of the murderers. But that was far from the truth. They continued walking unaware that Carr was watching their every move with a set of powerful binoculars. The fact was that Carr and his men had found them earlier that morning.

"Why are we still here, Bobby? Let's just kill those disgusting pigs and get the hell out of here." Max Gershon, Carr's right-hand man, said frustrated as he swatted at the bugs that had been biting at him since they entered the woods, causing Carr to squeeze his shoulder as he softly chuckled amused.

"Patience, little grasshopper. You don't get to where I am now by being impatient and ending things fast. This is a game—a game that we're going to enjoy very much. Let them believe for a little while that they've outsmarted us and that they're safe. That's when they're going to lower their defenses and slack off. And when that happens, that's when we'll move in and we'll finish our game slowly. We're going to make those filthy pigs squeal until they're begging us to finish them off. So, be patient, little grasshopper. The fun has just begun." Carr said with an evil laugh as he ruffled his companion's head.

Will Danny and Martin make it out of the woods alive? Will Jack and the rest of the team figure out that something has gone terribly wrong with the boys, before their lives are brought to a horrible end? Only time will be able to answer these questions.


	3. Chapter 3

'Lost in the Woods'

Author's Note: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. Without A Trace belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. So, please don't sue.

_Previously on 'Lost in the Woods': _"Patience, little grasshopper. You don't get to where I am now by being impatient and ending things fast. This is a game—a game that we're going to enjoy very much. Let them believe for a little while that they've outsmarted us and that they're safe. That's when they're going to lower their defenses and slack off. And when that happens, that's when we'll move in and we'll finish our game slowly. We're going to make those filthy pigs squeal until they're begging us to finish them off. So, be patient, little grasshopper. The fun has just begun." Carr said with an evil laugh as he ruffled his companion's head.

Chapter 3

Danny and Martin had been walking for several excruciating miles, when Danny suddenly began shaking violently and struggling to breathe, causing Martin to stop moving.

"Danny, talk to me. What's wrong?" Martin said fearfully but as the words left his mouth, Danny began vomiting violently three times and then fell to his knees. "You have to breathe, kiddo. Come on. I'll get you out of here." Martin said calmly but fearfully as he tightly held on to Danny and tried to stand him up.

"Damn it. Just get out of here. Leave me here and go get help." Danny said angrily as tears stained his face. Danny may have said that to Martin to put on a brave face but the truth was that he was scared to death of Martin, _his best friend_, leaving him alone in the woods to fend for himself while he went to get help.

"Calm down, kiddo. I'm not going to leave you out here alone. I'm not going to let you die out here alone like some animal just to get help. I'll get you out of here alive even if it's the last thing I do." Martin said with conviction as he tried to stand Danny up, causing Danny to shriek and shake violently from the pain as he shook his head.

"Don't fucking touch me! I can't walk anymore!" Danny cried angrily out of pain as he shook and held his injured leg, causing tears to escape Martin's eyes as he carefully lay Danny on the ground and took a look at Danny's leg and shoulder.

"I'll let you rest for a while but then we have to keep moving, Danny. If we don't, they're going to kill us where we stand." Martin tried his hardest to sound strong but the tears that stained his face and his badly shaking voice, betrayed him, causing Danny to feel guilty about hurting Martin and hold Martin's hand in a tight, brotherhood grip.

"I'm sorry, Fitzy. I didn't mean to take it out on you. You're here trying to help us get the hell out of here and I'm behaving like an asshole." Danny cried regretfully as he breathed shakily.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. I'll blame it on that fever of yours. Now, let's see how this leg's looking." Martin said caringly as he sniffled and removed the torn piece of shirt that was covering Danny's wounded leg, causing Martin to hiss when he saw how red and inflamed Danny's leg was.

"Is it bad?" Danny cried fearfully but he sounded like a frightened child, causing Martin to nod.

"I'm sorry, kiddo. It's red and inflamed and that's usually the first sign of infection. But you may feel some relief from this, even if it is only minor relief." Martin said caringly as he picked up some wet mud from the ground.

"What are you doing?" Danny cried confused.

"Since we lost our first aid kit, mud's the next best treatment." Martin said caringly and then chuckled softly when Danny looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "When you don't have a kit and you get hurt in the wilderness, you can apply mud to any wound and then bandage it with bandages or a piece of cloth. The mud can be used as a cold compress against swelling and even relieving some of the pain caused by the swelling itself." Martin said caringly as he put mud on both sides of Danny's leg and shoulder wound and then bandage it with the pieces of torn shirt. "But that's not all. We can also use mud to stop these damn bugs from biting the hell out of us." Martin said with a smile and then chuckled amused when Danny groaned and made a disgusted face as Martin put more mud all over their faces, neck and arms. "What? Do you prefer to keep getting bitten by all these damn bugs?" He said incredulously as he smiled amused.

"How do you even know that any of this going to work, you geek?" Danny said crossly but caringly with a disgusted face.

"You can thank the discovery channel for that." Martin said amused as he smiled, causing Danny to suddenly laugh very amused as tears stained his face and he weakly squeezed Martin's bad arm. "Oww!" He shrieked pained as he grabbed his arm.

"Martin, your arm!" Danny said fearfully as it began bleeding again but Martin shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. It's just a through and through. But I've got a get you out of here." Martin said pained as he put mud on his wound and bandaged it with a piece of torn shirt and then carefully stood Danny up as Danny shrieked pained and he shook.

_AT THAT MOMENT, IN ANOTHER PART OF THE WOODS…_

"Do you see what I've been telling you, Max? You've got to be patient. They're sitting there laughing, thinking that they've already lost us and that they're getting out of the woods. But they won't be going anywhere. Now, would you like to have some with them, Max?" Carr said with an evil sneer as he squeezed Max Gershon's shoulder, causing Max to ready his gun.

"What do you want me to do?" Max Gershon said with an evil smile as he aimed the gun at Danny and Martin's head.

"Shoot at the tree first and then shoot the little pig in the shoulder. Let's see if he'll act tough with another bullet in his body." Carr said with an evil amusement as he stared at Martin through the binoculars.

As soon as Carr said that, Gershon aimed his gun and shot at the tree where Danny and Martin now stood, causing the murderous bastards to laugh in amusement at the horror on Danny and Martin's faces as they ducked and tried to leave. It was then that Gershon fired another shot and hit Martin in the back of his left shoulder, causing Danny and Martin to fall to the floor as they screamed in agonizing pain as they struggled to breathe.

"Aaaaaaagh!" Danny and Martin screamed crying in agonizing pain as they shook and gasped violently for air.

"Fuck! Son of bitch! We have to keep moving! I told you that they were still after us!" Martin screamed in agony as he and Danny struggled to breathe and he held his shoulder, causing Danny to reel in agony as he vomited violently again from the pain. "Damn it! Come on!" Martin cried furiously but fearfully as he grabbed Danny tightly and led him away quickly, ignoring his own excruciating pain.

At that moment, the murderous sociopaths began laughing evilly amused as they watched Danny and Martin trying to run away.

"Now, wasn't that fun, Max?" Carr laughed evilly amused, causing the sociopaths to laugh more. "Come on. Let's keep following them. By the time we're done with them, the filthy little pigs are going to be begging us to kill them." Carr laughed evilly and they continued walking.

Danny struggled to keep moving through the pain but Martin continued holding on to him, leading them away to a safe place, if there was any, where Carr and his men couldn't get to them for the time being. They continued walking several miles until they both collapsed on the floor from sheer exhaustion and pain as blood, tears and sweat stained every crevice of their bullet-riddled bodies.

"Danny, we have to keep going." Martin said weakly as he struggled to breathe and held his pained shoulder, causing him to cough and gag violently as he began vomiting violently and complete darkness took over.

"Martin!" Danny said fearfully as he took a tight hold of Martin. "Martin, answer me, damn it!" He cried fearfully and then cried in relief when he checked for a pulse and found one. "You just rest, Fitzy. I'll look out for you now." Danny cried softly but emotionally as he held Martin tightly for dear life.

It was five in the afternoon when the sky took an eerie and chilling darkness, causing Danny to become fearful and awaken Martin.

"Fitzy? Fitzy, wake up." Danny said concerned, causing Martin to groan pained and awaken.

"What's wrong?" Martin groaned pained as he held his shoulder.

"Look." Danny said somewhat fearfully as he pointed to the horribly darkened sky, and Martin's eyes widened with fear.

"Oh, shit!" Martin said with tinge of fear in his voice, although he tried to sound calm.

"Tell me that's not a storm, Fitzy." Danny tried to say calmly but his voice shook and there was definite fear in it.

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but that's starting to look like the mother of all storms. We have to get out of here now or we'll be sitting ducks, especially now that it's starting to rain and getting windy. And we better hope that it doesn't start thundering because we both know what that means, Danny. Where there's thunder, there's almost always lightning." Martin said very concerned as his teeth chattered a bit.

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Danny said calmly but fear was clearly evident in his voice.

"Do you think that you can walk? We have to get out of here and try to find some kind of shelter or figure something out but we can't stay here. It's going to start pouring soon. Come on." Martin said concerned as he ignored his own excruciating pain and grabbed a tight hold of Danny and led him away.

Martin continued holding onto Danny and they continued walking an hour until they couldn't move anymore. Not only were they in pain, but the wind had also been blowing ruthlessly and the freezing rain was riddling their bodies like bullets.

"Danny, we have to keep moving!" Martin said fearfully but completely exhausted as they both shook violently and struggled to breathe, but Danny shook his head.

"No. I can't move anymore, Fitzy. Just leave me here and go find help." Danny weakly cried pained as he struggled to breathe, causing Martin to grab a tight hold of his face in his hands.

"Shut. The hell. Up. I've told you once and I've told you a hundred times. I'm not going to leave you here alone like some fucking animal just to get help. And I'm not going to let those fucking sociopaths kill you. I'm going to get you the hell out of this place if it's the last thing I do. But I'm going to need your help. I'm not going to let you die and you can't let yourself die either. Now, keep moving." Martin cried sternly out of fear and then continued dragging Danny another five minutes until they reached a large boulder with a small cave-like opening underneath.

It in fact was a good place to be, as long lightning didn't strike, because it shielded them quite a bit from the torrential downpour. After laying Danny inside, under the boulder, Martin gathered all the wood, branches and leaves that he could and covered the entrance of the boulder as best he could and then went inside.

"How are you holding up, kiddo?" Martin said concerned as Danny shook violently.

"How the hell am I supposed to feel? I'm freezing my ass off. And why the hell are you still wearing that stupid waist pack. Take it off." Danny said angrily as tears stained his face.

"What? What are you talking about, kiddo?" Martin said genuinely confused because he had no idea what Danny was talking about. Then Danny growled angrily at him at pointed to the waist pack. "Oh, shit!" He said in shock and horror as his eyes bugged out.

"What?" Danny said fearfully.

"Oh, shit! Danny, I'm so sorry. With everything that's happened, I completely forgot that I still even had my damn waist pack. Damn it!" Martin said frustrated at himself as he opened the waist pack and sighed very heavily in relief as he shook.

"What? What do you have in there?" Danny said shaken as his teeth chattered and he shook violently.

"I have my knife, a flint, two granola bars, a bottle of water, two survival blankets and shit, a small first aid kit. Oh, shit. I'm so sorry, kiddo." Martin said very regretfully and urgently as he opened one of the blankets and completely covered Danny with it. "Here. Drink some water. Easy, easy. You can only drink a little or you'll throw up again." He said caringly as he carefully fed Danny some water and a piece of granola bar.

"What about you?" Danny cried softly as he took a tight hold of Martin's wrist as he shook, causing Martin to carefully lay Danny on the ground again and cover him up once again.

"Calm down and don't move. Don't worry about me, kiddo. Let's just take care of you first and then I'll eat. Now, let's take a look at your leg and shoulder." Martin said caringly as he removed the bloody cloths, causing Danny to let his body sag in defeat as Martin took care of his pained wounds and put fresh bandages on Danny's leg and a triangular bandage on his left shoulder. "All right, the antiseptic will help the infection until we can get you some help. Now that we have this stuff, we have a better chance of getting the hell out of here and away from those fucking sociopaths. But for now, just get some sleep and I'll keep an eye out. Though, with this weather, I don't think they can still be walking around out there. They had to find shelter." Martin said tiredly.

"Do you really think they're going to let us get out of here alive after what we saw, Fitzy?" Danny said sleepily as he shook a bit and his teeth chattered, causing Martin to worry and put a hand on his hand on Danny's forehead.

"Damn it. You're burning up, Danny." Martin said concerned as he ripped another piece of his shirt and wet it with some rainwater, then he placed the wet cloth on Danny's forehead.

"I'm going to die, huh?" Danny said weakly as he struggled to remain awake.

"I'm never going to let that happen, kiddo. I'll get you out of here if it's the last thing I do on this earth. Now, stop talking all that garbage and get some sleep. We've both had a hard day but you've had it worse. So, get some sleep." Martin said caringly and Danny immediately gave in to complete darkness as tears stained his face and tears escaped Martin's eyes. "I'll get you out of here, even if I have to give my life to save yours. I swear, kiddo." Martin cried softly as he drank some water, ate some granola bar and covered himself with the second emergency blanket.

Martin continued watch the rest of the night. But he was so exhausted that when one in the morning came, he could no longer remain awake and gave in to sleep as the merciless rain and wind continued without end in sight. It continued raining until six in the morning, causing them to awaken several hours later at eleven a.m. that Sunday morning and quickly eat and drink a bit of water and granola bar.

"Come on. We've got to get out of here, Danny." Martin said tiredly as he put the contents back into his waist pack but put the knife and flint into his pants pockets. "Let's go. Easy, easy." Martin said caringly as he gently sat him up and cleared the opening of the debris, causing Danny and Martin's eyes to widen in complete horror when Carr and his men stood before them as they aimed they're guns at Danny and Martin's heads as they smiled evilly.

"Good morning, pigs. Were you really trying to run away before our fun game was finished? The real fun is about to begin, pigs." Carr said with an evil smile. "Isn't that right, boys? I promised you fun and that's what we're going to have. We're going to have fun with the little piggies." Carr said with an evil smile, causing Carr and his men to laugh evilly at the look of horrors on Danny and Martin's faces and their blood-curdling screams as they roughly stood them up from the floor.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Author's Note—Let me know if you want me to continue or if it should end here.


	4. Chapter 4

'Lost in the Woods'

Author's Note: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. Without A Trace belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS. So, please don't sue.

Chapter 4

"Good morning, pigs. Were you really trying to run away before our fun game was finished? The real fun is about to begin, pigs." Carr said with an evil smile. "Isn't that right, boys? I promised you fun and that's what we're going to have. We're going to have fun with the little piggies." Carr said with an evil smile, causing Carr and his men to laugh evilly at the look of horrors on Danny and Martin's faces and their blood-curdling screams as they roughly stood them up from the floor.

"Look at that, boys. It looks like we have a boy scout here with us." Carr said with an evil grin as he grabbed and pulled Martin's hair, when he noticed that Danny's arm and leg were bandaged.

"Let's see what this Boy Scout has in his pretty sack." Gershon said with an evil sneer as he cut away Martin's waist pack. "Well, well, look what we have here—a nice little first aid kit, blankets and even some food and water. Well, they won't be needing this food." He said with a sadistic smile as he poured out the water and crushed the remaining granola bar pieces.

All of a sudden, Nichols and Prichard—Carr's thugs, grabbed a tight hold of Martin and Carr grabbed a tight hold of Danny. As Martin began struggling to get free, Gershon sent a hard kick to Martin's face and stomach, causing Martin to gasp violently pained and struggle to breathe as blood gushed from his face.

"You son of bitch!" Danny shrieked furiously as tears stained his face, causing him to struggle to remain conscious after Carr elbowed him hard in the face and forcefully dug his nails into Danny's leg wound.

"Wake the hell up! You won't be sleeping until I say you can, you disgusting pig!" Carr said angrily as he held and pulled Danny's hair and violently shook his head like a rag doll. "Max, it looks like this pig wants to go to sleep. Maybe we should staple his eyes open." He said laughing sadistically.

"Why do that, when we can burn them?" Max Gershon said with a sickening smile as he turned on his lighter and put it in front of Danny's face but Carr looked at him seriously and shook his head.

"Not yet, grasshopper—be patient. We're going to have some fun first." Carr said with a grin so sadistic that Danny and Martin looked at each other fearfully. "Now, get these shit pigs out of my face. Go." He said seriously and Gershon, Nichols and Prichard dragged a badly bloodied and beaten Danny and Martin, forward.

Carr and his men continued dragging Danny and Martin several hours as they continuously pulled their hair, kicked them on their heads and backs and burned them with the lighter that Gershon had, even as the boys soiled themselves. They did all that, while laughing hysterically, as Danny and Martin screamed and cried in agonizing pain and begged for Carr to kill them already. By six-thirty that Sunday evening, Danny and Martin couldn't move anymore as they fell to the ground bloodied and barely conscious, causing Martin to grab a weak hold of Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip.

"Nichols, Prichard, get the little piggies to the brook-stream. I don't want them to die yet before we finish our fun game. Go. Now." Carr ordered seriously and Nichols and Prichard immediately dragged Danny and Martin to a brook-stream several hundred feet away to where Carr and Gershon couldn't see them anymore.

When they got to the brook-stream, Nichols and Prichard threw them to the ground.

"Hurry up!" Nichols and Prichard said angrily, causing Danny and Martin to clean themselves with stream water as they groaned pained, but relieved, as the cool water offered some relief to their wounded and exhausted bodies.

While Danny and Martin cleaned up, Nichols and Prichard began talking about what their boss was going to do them next. Danny and Martin knew, as they looked at each other, that if they didn't do something then, they were going to die that night. They were going to die a horrible death, all alone, in this forsaken hellhole like the victim they failed to save the night that this entire ordeal began.

It was at that very moment that Danny and Martin decided to fight, to survive. They looked at each other and Martin signaled to the stream, both realizing that in the brook-stream, before them, there was a piece of log and several large rocks. At that moment, they both knew what had to be done.

All of sudden, Danny and Martin collapsed into the brook-stream.

"Hey! Wake the hell up, pigs! You're not dying yet!" Prichard said angrily as he and Nichols immediately grabbed them by their hair and brought them to their knees, causing Danny and Martin to react.

At that moment, Martin hit Nichols in the knee and he fell to the ground, causing Danny to then hit Prichard in the back of the head with a large rock, when Prichard tried to help his accomplice.

"You…" Nichols tried furiously but Martin immediately hit him in the head with the log, leaving both men in a dark haze as darkness threatened to take over.

"Danny, let's go!" Martin cried urgently but quietly and they began running away as quickly as possible as they struggled through the unbearable pain. "I know that it hurts but we have to keep going or they're going to kill us, Danny! We can't let that happen!" He cried urgently as he held Danny tightly and led him through the woods.

"Aaaagh! Fuck!" Nichols and Prichard cried furiously in pain as Carr and Gershon made it to the brook-stream.

"Where the hell are the damn pigs?" Carr said furiously.

"They got away from us, boss." Nichols said angrily as they continued writhing in pain, causing Carr and Gershon to grab Nichols and Prichard by their throats.

"How the hell did you let them get away? You find them or no one will ever find your bodies. I've disposed of bodies before and yours won't be any different." Carr said very viciously as he and Gershon grabbed their hands. "This is for letting them get away!" He said furiously as they broke Nichols and Prichard's right thumbs, causing Nichols and Prichard to scream in agonizing pain.

"That was just a warning. Find them or you won't leave these woods alive." Gershon said furiously as they roughly pushed Nichols and Prichard as they tried to track Danny and Martin.

Danny and Martin continued running through the woods, as they pushed through the pain, because they weren't ready to die yet. They were going to do whatever they had to get out of those woods alive. So, they continued forward until they collapsed on the ground complete exhausted that Monday morning at five.

"Mar...tin…" Danny tried but couldn't continue as he struggled to breathe.

"We have to keep going, Danny. We can't stop or they'll kill us. Look, I still have my knife and flint. I swear that once it's daylight, I'll try to find us something to eat out here." Martin said exhausted as he cut a large leaf with his knife. "Danny, open your mouth." He said caringly as he squeezed it and water came out of it, causing Danny to gladly drink it.

"How did you do that, Fitzy?" Danny said confused as he shook violently.

"I've known about nature since I was little and Aunt Bonnie used to take me camping with Uncle Frank and the girls. But I learned a lot by watching the Discovery Channel." Martin said kindly as he drank from a second leaf and then put his knife back in his pants pockets.

"I swear that if we get out of this alive, I'll never make fun of you again." Danny said kindly as he continued shaking violently.

"Then what fun would that be? That banter is what keeps me in good spirits and it stops me from going nuts at work, especially, when we have hard cases to deal with. So, unless you want me to kick your ass, when we get out of here, you better keep up the banter. Do I make myself clear, Agent Taylor?" Martin said with a smile as he took a hold of Danny and they began walking again as Danny weakly chuckled amused.

_BACK AT THE OFFICE…_

_MONDAY MORNING, 11:30AM_

Jack was sitting angrily at his desk at FBI Headquarters. It was eleven-thirty Monday morning and neither Danny nor Martin had called or shown up for work. Truth be told, he was angry on the outside, but inside was a completely different story. Jack was worried about his boys. He knew that Danny and Martin never missed work so now he was left to wonder and worry about why they hadn't shown up for work.

All of sudden, there was a knock at the door, causing him to snap at whoever was at the door.

"What is it?" Jack said angrily and the door opened.

"I guess there's still no word from Danny or Martin, huh?" Jeff said concerned and Jack shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure they're okay, Jack. Come on. You and I both know how exhausting that Santanoni Range is." He said reassuringly.

"How the hell can I forget? You dragged my ass out there with you when we met and I got lost in that forsaken hellhole for two days without food and water. I ended up bloodied, bruised and with explosive diarrhea for two weeks, after I drank that water straight from the stream." Jack said crossly.

"But I found you again and you were okay, Jack. We both were. We made it out bloodied, bruised and feeling like shit, but we made it out alive. Look, I'm sure the boys are fine, okay. I bet they got home too exhausted and just decided to stay in and sleep all day, just like we did—and we sure as hell didn't call in either, that time. Just remember, Jack, bad news travels fast." Jeff said kindly and then left the office, causing Jack to return to working on his unfinished paperwork, hoping against all hope, that Jeff was right and that he was just getting himself worked up over nothing.

_BACK IN THE WOODS…_

It was three, that humid, Monday afternoon and Danny and Martin were beginning to give up all hope of ever finding their way out of the forsaken hellhole they were in. They were both bloodied, beaten, exhausted and in pain as they struggled to move any longer. Being completely exhausted, they fell to the ground by a nearby brook.

"Mar…tin, I can't…keep going. I need water and I'm starving." Danny cried exhausted as sweet darkness threatened to take Danny to a blissful sleep away from all the pain, fear and torment that they were struggling with.

"Danny, if we drink this water we might end up getting infected with parasites." Martin said exhausted as he struggled to breathe.

"If we don't drink it, we're going to die anyway." Danny cried exhausted and Martin conceded defeat as he nodded and they began drinking from the brook, causing them to cry exhausted but also relieved as they drank and bathed in the cool water. "Hey, geek, do you think you can catch these fish?" Danny asked expectantly of the fish that were swimming in the brook.

"I can try. But you have to understand that we're going to have to gut them and eat them raw, if I do catch some fish. I have my flint but if I try to use these wet rocks, they'll likely explode. So, do you think that you can eat raw fish?" Martin said seriously and Danny nodded as he shook. "All right. Move." He said with a heavy sigh and looked at the fish for a moment, causing him to grab his knife and stab two fish in the water, several minutes later after several failed attempts.

Danny looked on disgusted as Martin gutted the fishes and cut off their heads. But he knew that he didn't have a choice. If they were going to survive, they were going to have to eat what they had to, even if that meant raw fish.

"Here. Don't taste it. Just start eating and don't stop. Otherwise, you're going to start puking your guts. Start eating." Martin said caringly as he handed Danny a raw fish and they both began eating it, but Danny's hands shook violently as he tried not to taste the raw fish. "Don't taste it, Danny. Just keep eating." He said calmly as he ate his fish and they continued until the edible parts of the fish were gone, causing Danny to shake violently as he struggled not to vomit. "I warned you, Danny." He said caringly as carefully squeezed Danny's arm.

"I swear that if we get out of here alive, I'm never going to eat fish again. Ugh." Danny said disgusted and Martin softly chuckled amused.

"Tell you what. Let me see if I can get some more fish and I'll try to start a fire to cook them. It's either that or eating bugs." Martin said caringly as he smiled and took out his knife again, causing him to catch and gut four more fish. "All right. Let's keep walking, Danny. We don't know where these assholes can be. Let's go." He said a bit fearful as he took off his shoelaces and tied off the caught fish with them and then carried them in his hands as they began walking again.

Carr and his men continued looking for Danny and Martin for several hours, without any luck. It was seven that Monday evening and Carr was more furious than ever. Not only had Danny and Martin gotten away because of his worthless thugs, but he had been stuck in the woods several days already. This was supposed to be easy. He'd only come out to the woods to dispose of his latest victim and then he was going to leave. But Danny and Martin had interfered with his plans. Now, when he caught up to them, they were going to regret ever interfering with his plans.

"All right, Max. You want to have some fun? You're going to get it. As soon as we find those bastard pigs, you do whatever you want to them, without killing them, because I want them to suffer as they watch me kill the other." Carr said evilly and Gershon laughed.

"Finally, some fun at last." Gershon said with an evil laugh but then glared at Nichols and Prichard. "What about these worthless assholes? What are we going to do with them?" He said seriously.

"Easy, Max. If they screw up again, we're going to kill them. Remember, Max, dead men tell no tales." Carr said seriously as he glared viciously at the scared faces of Nichols and Prichard and they continued walking.

_SOMEWHERE, IN ANOTHER PART OF THE WOODS…_

Danny and Martin were exhausted so they sat down to rest near a large boulder. An hour later, Martin stood up, causing Danny to suddenly, but fearfully, grab a tight hold of his leg.

"Where are you going, Fitzy?" Danny said fearfully, but like a frightened child.

"Calm down, kiddo. I'm just going to get some rocks and other things to build us fire. Just keep calm and rest a bit." Martin said caringly as he stood up and began looking for rocks, dry leaves, wood shavings, dead grass, and shredded bark and even found an empty bird's nest. "How are you doing, kiddo?" He said concerned as Danny shook somewhat vioelntly but Danny didn't answer as he looked at Martin frightened.

Martin gently squeezed Danny's arm and gave him a reassuring look and then began building a pit with the rocks that he'd collected. Next, he began trying to make a fire with the flint, knife and bird's nest. After several failed attempts and thirty minutes later, Martin finally got a fire started, causing Danny to suddenly cry shaking out of relief as the fire gave his body some warmth.

"Shhh. Calm down and breathe, kiddo. We'll be home soon, I promise. I'm going to get you out of here and once we get help, I'm going to make sure that the team captures these sons of bitches and makes them pay for killing that guy and for putting us through this hell." Martin said with conviction as he tightly held Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip.

"Give it up, Martin. Jack isn't looking for us and you know it. He probably thinks that we just blew off work." Danny cried angrily as he shook.

"Don't say that, Danny. We both know that they're already looking for us, okay." Martin said caringly as he tried to remain strong, although, inside he was terrified. "Don't think about that right now. Instead, how about we have some hot dinner, okay?" He said caringly and Danny nodded crying.

Martin prepared the remaining fish and skewered them with a sticks. He held them over the fire until they were fully cooked, but not burned. Then, he handed two fish to Danny and kept the other two for himself.

"Eat it, kiddo. This time it's cooked and it won't taste as bad as the raw fish. But be careful with any bones." Martin said caringly and they began eating, causing Danny to groan pleased and savor the hot meal as they ate and talked peacefully, for the moment.

Danny and Martin finished eating and continued talking until eleven that evening.

"I think it's time we get some sleep, Danny. The sooner we get some sleep, the sooner we'll get out of here." Martin said caringly and Danny nodded yawning as he struggled to remain awake.

"Fitzy, no matter what happens, thanks for taking care of me out here like you have. If it weren't for you, I would've died out here that first night." Danny said weakly and then gave in to some much needed sleep, away from all the unbearable fear and pain that he felt, causing Martin to sigh heavily as he looked at Danny's frail body and tears escaped his eyes.

"_Jack, please. Help us. Save us, Jack. Don't let us die out here like this._" Martin silently cried softly but sorrowfully as he lay down on the ground and gave in to sleep.

Danny and Martin continued sleeping the rest of the night, until Martin awakened at eight in the morning and threw dirt over, the now small fire, until it was out completely.

"Danny, wake up. We have to start walking again." Martin said tiredly but Danny remained sleeping, causing Martin to worry when he saw that Danny was sweating profusely and his face was a bit pale. "Danny. Danny, wake up." He said fearfully as he shook Danny, causing Danny to cough and groan pained and then wake up.

"Martin." Danny groaned weakly but pained he covered his eyes, causing Martin to bug out fearfully when he put a hand on Danny's forehead.

"Oh, shit! Danny, you're burning up. We have to get you the hell out of here now. Come on. Just hang on to me." Martin said fearfully as he grabbed a tight hold of Danny but Danny could barely move because his entire body felt like lead.

"I…can't." Danny cried weakly.

"Yes, you can, kiddo. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, all right? We're almost out of this shithole and we're not going to give up now. Come on. It won't be long now. We're not that far away. We have to walk just a little while longer, kiddo." Martin said fearfully as he tightly held on to Danny and continued leading him through the woods.

_TUESDAY, 9AM_

_MISSING 72 HOURS…_

Although it was only nine o'clock Tuesday morning, Jack was very concerned. Danny and Martin still hadn't called or shown up at the office. With that thought tormenting his mind, Jack knew that something terrible had to have happened to Danny and Martin. Danny and Martin never missed a day's work unless they were on vacation. In fact, if there was a problem or if one of them couldn't come in, they would always call the office or call Jack at home and on his cell phone.

"Still no word on Danny or Martin?" Sam said concerned as she, Vivian and Jeff Carmichael, Jack's co-worker and friend of ten years, showed up in the bullpen.

"No. They haven't called or come in." Jack said concerned as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Jack, now I'm really worried as hell. We all know that that's not like Danny and Martin." Jeff said concerned as he got a sick feeling in his stomach.

Jeff had a great respect for everyone on the team since Jack brought him on four years earlier. And although he and Jack had been friends for ten years, he took an immediate liking to Danny and Martin and the boys felt the same way. The three soon became best friends and spent a lot of time together away from the job whether it was having drinks, watching Sunday football or trying to pick up girls. Danny and Martin were like his younger brothers and Jeff would do what he had to, to take care of them. He'd be damned if he'd allow anything or anyone to hurt his boys.

"Jeff, I'm talking to you." Jack said sternly but concerned as he shook Jeff's shoulder, causing Jeff to flinch and blink rapidly as he was brought back to the present time.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to zone out like that. But come on, man. We just can't sit here on our asses with our thumbs up our butts and speculate. We have to find Danny and Martin. We know damn well that those two are obsessed with working. Hell, Jack, they even call you while on vacation to see if you need them. Do you honestly believe that they'd blow off work? Give me a break." Jeff said hot and bothered out of concern.

"Cool off and take a breath right now, Jeff." Jack said harshly and then changed his tone when Jeff took a breath to calm down. "Genius, if you'd been paying attention instead of zoning out, you would have heard my orders." Jack said sternly but then signed heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose both because of his oncoming migraine and his frustration with Jeff.

"I'm sorry, Jack. Now, where did they go? What do you want us to do?" Jeff said calmly but anxiously.

"Like I said before, Martin called me last Friday morning at six-thirty to let me know that they were heading to the Santanoni Range up in the Adirondacks." Jack said concerned and tried to keep in control although inside he felt his heart sink further.

"What the hell were they thinking going up there? That place is hell on Earth, Jack. You know that better than I do. And Martin may know about climbing but Danny doesn't know a damn thing about anything that has to do with nature. All Danny knows about is the nature of female anatomy. " Jeff said frustrated.

"Do I need to take you off of this case, Jeff? I can give you something else to work on." Jack said seriously but with compassionate undertones, causing Jeff to sigh heavily as he shook his head. Jack understood Jeff's reaction completely because he felt the same way. But he had to maintain his cool because he was the boss and because he knew that they had a job to do. "Good. Now, back to what I was saying before. Sam, I want you and Viv to talk to Martin's neighbors and see what you can find out about him. Jeff, I want you to go to Danny's place and see what you can find out there. I'm going to stay here in case they call or show up and if they do, I'm kicking both their asses for not coming in sooner. Now, go. Get out of here." Jack said seriously and the team left FBI Headquarters as he went into his office and sat at his desk. "_Where the hell are you two?_" He silently thought to himself as he massaged his temple because he knew, deep down, that Danny and Martin wouldn't be showing up at the office, on their own.

An hour later, Sam, Jeff and Viv showed up at the office with serious looks on there face. Upon seeing their faces, Jack knew that it wasn't good news.

"All right, what have you got?" Jack said seriously.

"Jack, according to Danny's neighbor, a Mrs. Rosa Perez, the last time she saw him was Thursday evening at nine when Danny helped her carry her groceries to her apartment. The rest of the neighbors haven't seen him either. But Danny's car is still in its parking spot. " Jeff said seriously and concerned.

"Danny's car is where it's supposed to be. Martin was driving. What about Martin, Sam? What did you find out?" Jack said seriously but everyone could see how concerned he was.

"According to Stan, Martin's landlord, he hasn't seen or heard from Martin since five-thirty Friday morning and Martin's car isn't at home. None of the neighbors have seen or heard from him either since Thursday evening." Sam said concerned.

"All right. It's obvious that something went wrong during the weekend because they said that they'd be back by Sunday evening but they haven't even called or shown up. Now, we know for a fact that that's not like Danny or Martin at all. They always show up ready for work or at least call in if something happens." Jack said seriously.

"What do you want us to do, Jack?" Jeff said with a bit of dread in his voice.

"All right. I want a timeline for both Danny and Martin beginning since they left here on Thursday afternoon. Jeff, have the tech boys run a trace on their phones. I also want an APB out on Martin's car right now. Sam, get me all the maps you can find on this place. Martin said that they were going to the Santanoni Range in Adirondack. I know that there may be trails posted but it's cold as hell out there and easy for them to get lost out there. And as far as we know, they could be seriously hurt or they could've been mauled by a wild animal. Viv, see if you can call the local police up there and also, try to get in touch with someone at the Ranger station. Tell them that we have two guys lost somewhere in that damn range. I want that information now. Go." Jack said seriously and Jeff, Sam and Viv quickly went their separate ways.

_BACK IN THE WOODS…_

Martin struggled to lead Danny through the rough terrain. Danny was in agonizing pain with every step that he took. Much worse was the fact, however, that the leg wound showed signs of infection and that as the minutes passed, Danny slipped further into shock and unconsciousness. But Martin knew all too well the consequences of allowing Danny to give in to a blissful sleep away from the exhaustion, pain and fear. Martin knew that if he allowed Danny to slip into unconsciousness, his best friend would never awaken again.

"You still with me, brother?" Martin said nervously but kindly as he held Danny tightly and continued walking him through the rough terrain.

"How…much…further? I can't move anymore." Danny said weakly but in excruciating pain as he shook violently, sweat profusely and grew paler as he struggled to remain awake, causing him to cry out in agonizing pain and open his eyes when he nearly gave in to complete darkness and Martin held on to him tighter.

"Wake the hell up, Danny. I didn't tell you that you could sleep, did I? You're not giving up to the grim reaper yet after coming this far. You're going to fight or I'm going to kick your sorry ass. Now, keep moving." Martin said very harshly out of fear.

"Just let me go, Martin. Face it. The only ones looking for us are those murderers. Jack probably thinks that we're being lazy and decided to blow off work." Danny said weakly but angrily out of fear.

"You're probably right about that, pig. And by the time they figure out what happened, you'll be dead and we'll be long gone. But before you die, you're going to regret running away from us and making us chase you around in this forsaken shithole." Gershon said angrily as they found Danny and Martin again, causing Danny and Martin to scream and cry in horrifying anguish when they were kicked in the groin and face and then fell to the floor.

"You son of bitch! Just fucking kill us already!" Danny shrieked furiously until complete darkness took over, causing him to vomit when a horrible stench filled his nose.

"Wake the hell up, you pig. You're going to die but you're going to watch me do it. First, I'm going to kill your little girlfriend here and then you. Now, get the hell up." Carr said furiously as he poured drinking alcohol on Danny's face and his men pulled them up by their hair and dragged them away.

_BACK AT THE OFFICE…_

Vivian came running out of the elevator and into the bullpen with a horrified look on her face.

"Jack!" Viv said urgently.

"What's wrong, Viv?" Jeff said calmly but fearfully.

"We've got big trouble." Viv said seriously and then turned to Jack. "Jack, I just got a report from the rangers. A couple of hikers just reported that they found an abandoned campsite. They said that it was ransacked. But that's not the worst part. They found two wallets covered in blood. I spoke to the ranger and he said that the wallets belong to Danny and Martin. He recognized them right away because he spoke to them when they first arrived. But he had no idea that they were in trouble and much less that they were federal agents." Viv said urgently but couldn't continue when her phone rang.

"Special Agent Johnson." Viv said seriously. "Yes. When?" Viv said seriously as she wrote on a notepad. "All right. Gather the local police but no one does anything until we get there. That's right. We'll see you there." She said seriously and then looked in the computer after she ended the call.

"What's going on, Viv?" Jack said somewhat bothered, out of concern.

"Rangers just found the body of a man who was executed in the woods. They found his hands and feet bounded. He has no wallet or anything to ID him. But Ranger Howard O'Reilly says that the witnesses, who came in with the boys' wallets, recognized some fugitives from a wanted poster. They said the men were in the woods and that they were fighting with each other about letting 'them' get away." Viv said seriously and urgently, causing a sick feeling to come over all of them.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Jeff said angrily but fear was clearly evident in his voice.

"Meet—_**Max Gershon**_—wanted for 1st degree aggravated murder, witness intimidation, aggravated assault on a police officer, weapons and drug charges…

_**Victor Nichols**_—wanted for assault**,** battery, false imprisonment**, **kidnapping…

_**David Prichard**_—wanted for arson, burglary, murder, rape, kidnapping…

_**Bobby 'The Snake' Carr**_—wanted for 1st degree aggravated murder, crimes against humanity, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary…" Viv said seriously as she read the report on her computer.

"The list goes on and on for these guys. Carr is even wanted for the brutal torture and 1st degree aggravated murder of a female witness who testified against him in a murder trial. He tortured the victim continuously for three days by pulling out her fingernails and toenails, brutally beating and cutting her all over her body with a hunting knife. Then, he cut out her tongue to serve as a lesson for anyone else who tries to testify against him. Jack, the victim's name was Katherine Conway, 34. She was a police detective with Albany PD, Homicide Division. She was married and had three small children." Viv said seriously and with a hint of dread in her voice.

"Jack…" Sam tried shaken but Jack quickly cut her off.

"They're not dead. Now, pull yourself together and do your job." Jack said harshly out of fear but then sighed heavily when tears escaped Sam's eyes, causing him to gently squeeze her arm. "I'm sorry, Sam. That had nothing to do with you." Jack said with a heavy sigh.

"I know, Jack." Sam said softly but sincerely. Sam knew all too well, they all did, that Jack was talking about himself and not Sam. Although he was tough with them at times, the team was his family and he cared for Danny and Martin like his own sons.

"All right. I want a tactical unit armed and ready to fly out in fifteen minutes. Viv, you stay here and keep radio contact with the locals and with us. Sam, you're with me." Jack said seriously but urgently.

"Jeff, do you still know your way around the woods?" Jack said urgently.

"I'm ready when you are Jack? You know that Danny and Martin are my best friends and I'm not going to leave them out there with these murderous bastards any longer than they've been already. Let's go get those miserable assholes and bring our boys home, safe." Jeff said readily as he loaded his guns and put on his tactical gear.

"Let's move out. Those are our boys out there." Jack said seriously but proudly that he had such an amazing team. "Let's go." He seriously and they left to the elevator and the entire bullpen looked on silently, hoping and praying for Danny and Martin's safe return.

Will Jack and the team get to Danny and Martin in time? Or will they meet their demise at the hands of Carr and his men, like the unfortunate victim they couldn't save? Stay tuned for the next chapter of 'Lost in the Woods'.


	5. Chapter 5

'Lost in the Woods'

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created.

Chapter 5

"Wake the hell up, Danny. I didn't tell you that you could sleep, did I? You're not giving up to the grim reaper yet after coming this far. You're going to fight or I'm going to kick your sorry ass. Now, keep moving." Martin said very harshly out of fear.

"Just let me go, Martin. Face it. The only ones looking for us are those murderers. Jack probably thinks that we're being lazy and decided to blow off work." Danny said weakly but angrily out of fear.

"You're probably right about that, pig. And by the time they figure out what happened, you'll be dead and we'll be long gone. But before you die, you're going to regret running away from us and making us chase you around in this forsaken shithole." Gershon said angrily as they found Danny and Martin again, causing Danny and Martin to scream and cry in horrifying anguish when they were kicked in the groin and face and then fell to the floor.

"You son of bitch! Just fucking kill us already!" Danny shrieked furiously until complete darkness took over, causing him to vomit when a horrible stench filled his nose.

"Wake the hell up, you pig. You're going to die but you're going to watch me do it. First, I'm going to kill your little girlfriend here and then you. Now, get the hell up." Carr said furiously as he poured drinking alcohol on Danny's face and his men pulled them up by their hair and dragged them away.

----------------

"All right. I want a tactical unit armed and ready to fly out in fifteen minutes. Viv, you stay here and keep radio contact with the locals and with us. Sam, you're with me." Jack said seriously but urgently.

"Jeff, do you still know your way around the woods?" Jack said urgently.

"I'm ready when you are Jack. You know that Danny and Martin are my best friends and I'm not going to leave them out there with these murderous bastards any longer than they've been already. Let's go get those miserable assholes and bring our boys home, safe." Jeff said readily as he loaded his guns and put on his tactical gear.

"Let's move out. Those are our boys out there." Jack said seriously but proudly that he had such an amazing team. "Let's go." He seriously and they left to the elevator and the entire bullpen looked on silently, hoping and praying for Danny and Martin's safe return.

Jack, Jeff and Sam flew away from FBI Headquarters fifteen minutes later with an HRT Team, all fully dressed in tactical gear. They arrived at the Adirondacks forty-five minutes later.

"Agent Malone?" Ranger O'Reilly said respectfully as they shook hands. My name is Ranger Howard O'Reilly. This is Sheriff Jake Ashcroft. We've been keeping radio and telephone contact with Agent Johnson." He said respectfully as Sheriff Ashcroft shook Jack's hand.

"So, you're the one who spoke to my agents? Did they seem fine to you?" Jack said seriously.

"Yes, Sir. I was the one who first spoke to them, when they arrived Friday morning. They seemed fine, except for the fact that the taller agent with black hair seemed frightened after I told them to be careful because we had a lot of people get hurt out there in the Santanoni Range. After that, they said thank you and started off on the trail." Ranger O'Reilly said kindly but concerned and then retrieved a bag from on top of his desk. "Agent Malone, these are your agents wallets." He said as gently as possible as he gave Danny and Martin's bloodied wallets to Jack.

As soon as he saw the bloodied wallets, Jack paled a bit because he felt like he'd been punched in the gut and all the air had been sucked out of him. But he quickly put the wallets in his pants pocket and tried to regain his composure. He knew all too well that if he lost control now, there was a greater chance that they would lose Danny and Martin forever.

"How rough is the terrain in the Santanoni Range now? The last time I was out here, I was lost for several days, bloodied and bruised." Jack asked seriously as he tried to regain control of his emotions.

"It's very rough, muddy and the foliage and trees are really thick. But one of my concerns right now is that the witnesses found their ransacked campsite and their bloodied wallets. If they are hurt out there, they could've gotten disoriented and gone astray. Also, judging by their campsite, unless they covered themselves with some brushes or had extra clothes, and with the freezing night temperatures and the rainfall we had this weekend…" Ranger O'Reilly said very concerned but couldn't continue.

"They're not dead. My men are fighters and they don't give in to defeat that easily." Jack said seriously.

"I understand that, Agent Malone. But that's not what has me concerned most at the moment. The witnesses, who brought me your men's badges, said that the fugitives from a wanted poster were arguing in the woods about letting _'them'_ get away. Now, I don't know if they were referring to your men or not. But if it's in fact, your men that they're after, then we've got serious trouble." Ranger O'Reilly said seriously and concerned.

"Has anyone gone out there yet?" Jack said gruffly, out of concern.

"No, Sir. Agent Johnson advised that you had control over the situation and that no one was to enter those woods until you got here. We're just waiting for you. But all of my men are already heavily armed and ready to go. It's up to you what happens now." Sheriff Ashcroft said seriously but respectfully.

"All right. Where did the witnesses say they heard the fugitives arguing?" Jack said seriously and somewhat gruffly out of concern.

"They were several miles from the Santanoni Summit. But if the fugitives are really after your men and they're injured, then your men could be lost anywhere in those woods." Ranger O'Reilly said concerned.

"Jack, we have to get our guys out of there. Look, let's say that Danny and Martin are hurt, okay. Even if that were true we both know that Danny and Martin wouldn't just give up. They'd do whatever they had to, to get out of that shithole. That's why I suggest that we break up into teams and search on the summit." Jeff said seriously concerned.

"You'll have a better chance of finding your men if you search with a helicopter." Sheriff Ashcroft said seriously but respectfully.

"I agree. But I also agree with my agent. I want an air unit to start searching in and around the summit and the rest of us will be searching by ground for them. Remember, I want these fucking animals alive. Now, let's go. Move out." Jack said seriously and they all left in search of Danny and Martin.

--------------

Carr and his men dragged Danny and Martin through the woods by their hair, for thirty minutes, until they reached the wet Santanoni Summit. Once they reached the summit, they roughly turned Danny and Martin around and hit them in the faces with their guns, causing both men to fall flat on their backs. But they were too exhausted from all the pain that they couldn't even cry out, even when they were roughly forced to kneel on the hard, rocky ground.

"Did you really think that anyone was going to look for you, you stupid pigs?" Carr spat evilly.

"Just shut the fuck up! You can kill us but I swear that our team will hunt you down and kill you like the fucking miserable animals that you are! You're going to regret the day you ever laid a hand on us!" Danny spat furiously as he struggled to breathe and remain awake, causing Carr to growl furiously and punch Danny in the face.

"Get ready to die first, you fucking pig!" Carr said furiously as he cocked his gun and put it to Danny's forehead and Danny couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes.

All of a sudden, a chopper stood overhead.

"FBI! Everyone drop your weapons!" The police pilot said loudly and furiously through the radio. "Malone, you guys better hurry your asses up here. We have a hostage situation at Santanoni's Summit." He relayed urgently, causing Jack heart to sink to his stomach when he heard the radio call.

"Let's move!" Jack said angrily and they began running forward as fast as they could.

"You're going to die, pigs! I'm not going back to that fucking prison again! Nobody's going to take me in alive!" Carr said furiously as he put his finger on the trigger, causing Danny to immediately fall lifeless on the floor when Martin struggled with Carr for the gun and it went off, shooting Danny in the chest.

"Danny!" Martin screamed crying horrified as blood soaked Danny's lifeless body.

"Shots fired! Shots fired! Officer down! I repeat, officer down!" The police pilot said urgently over the radio, causing Jack and the others to begin running as fast as they could until they reached the Santanoni Summit.

"FBI! Drop your damn weapons and put your hands on your fucking head, you son of a bitch!" Jack yelled furiously.

At that moment, Carr and Gershon aimed their guns at Martin and Prichard and Nichols aimed their guns at Danny's lifeless body.

"Jack, Danny!" Martin cried fearfully.

"Shut the fuck up, you pig!" Gershon said furiously as he punched Martin in the face with his free hand, causing Martin to groan loudly in pain and spit blood from his mouth when he began choking.

"You son of bitch! Drop your fucking weapons before I blow your head off!" Jeff said wrathfully as he aimed his gun toward Gershon's head.

"Give it up, Carr. There's not a chance in hell that you and your men are leaving here. You're going back to prison where you belong." Jack said seething.

"You see, that's where you're wrong, you fat pig. You can either let us go or we'll kill this second pig." Carr seethed furiously as he put his gun to Martin's forehead.

"Jack, please, forget about me! Just shoot these fucking animals!" Martin cried struggling to breathe as he coughed up more blood.

"Shut up!" Carr seethed furiously as he put his finger on the trigger.

"Stop! All right, fine. What the hell do you want?" Jack said angrily as he lowered his weapon, causing Carr and his men to look at him and Carr momentarily released his finger from the trigger.

"How stupid do I look to you? You think that you can fool me like those stupid criminals you deal with? Get off your damn high horse because you don't know shit about me." Carr said furiously as he glared at Jack.

"That's where you're wrong, Carr. I know all about you and your partners here. But right now, I don't give a damn about any of that, you or your partners. All I give a damn about is my men. You let me have my men and I'll let you and your men go. Go wherever the hell you want, I don't give a shit. You choose. Now, let my men go." Jack said angrily.

"Jack, don't! Don't let them get away!" Martin cried struggling to breathe as he coughed up dark red blood.

"You want your filthy pigs? Well, you tell your people to back away right now or he dies too." Carr said angrily.

"All right. Everyone back away." Jack said seething as they began to move back and give Carr and his men the space they wanted.

Martin couldn't believe what he was seeing. How the hell could Jack let these cold-hearted sociopaths get away? He couldn't allow it to happen. Martin knew that if Jack let these animals go to save Danny and him, they'd kill anyone else who got in their way. That was something that he couldn't live with and he knew that Danny wouldn't want another innocent person getting hurt or killed because of them. It was at that moment when Martin remembered that he still had his knife hidden in his pants pocket.

Even though he knew that there was a great possibility of him dying there at that moment, Martin knew what he had to do to spare someone else from suffering the same horrifying torture that he and Danny had endured. So, Martin did all he could do. Since Carr and his men were distracted looking at Jack and the other officers on the scene, he very slowly snaked his hand down into his pants pocket without being noticed. He grabbed his knife and waited.

"So, what's it going to be, fat pig? Are you going to burry one or both of your filthy little pigs? You're not taking us in alive." Gershon seethed angrily as he glared at Jack.

"Return my men and you can get the hell out of here, you filthy maggot." Jack said angrily as he backed away from Carr, causing Carr to suddenly begin laughing like the sadistic madman that he was.

"You're so stupid, you fat pig. Did you actually think that I'd fall for your crap? I'm not going back to prison. Say goodbye to your disgusting pigs." Carr said furiously as he turned to Martin. "Say goodbye pig." Carr said angrily.

"No!" Martin shrieked violently as he pulled out his knife and stabbed Carr in the leg, causing Carr to scream violently in pain and begin bleeding profusely.

"You son of a bitch!" Gershon seethed furiously as he let out two shots, hitting Martin—one bullet grazing Martin's head and the other shooting Martin in the neck.

As soon as that happened, gunfire erupted and Gershon, Prichard and Nichols fell bloodied to the floor. But Jack was so furious that he began beating and kicking Carr.

"Jack, forget about that asshole! We have to help our boys!" Jeff said furiously as he and Sam ran up to Danny and Martin and began applying pressure to their wounds. "Danny, Danny, look at me! Damn it! Answer me!" He cried horrified as he checked for signs of life.

"Martin!" Jack said urgently and horrified as he began applying pressure to Martin's neck with violently shaking hands and Martin's blood soaked his hands.

"Ja…ck! I'm…sor…ry! Kil…led…Dan…ny!" Martin said barely audible as he choked on a sea of his own blood and complete darkness took over.

"Martin! Martin!" Sam cried horrified.

"Jack, we need MedEvac now! Danny's not breathing and he doesn't have a pulse." Jeff yelled urgently and fearfully as he began CPR.

"Get me a goddamn MedEvac chopper now! We're losing them!" Jack yelled furiously but terrified.

"Martin!" Sam yelled fearfully.

"Martin can't hear you, Sam! He's not breathing and I just lost his pulse!" Jack said fearfully. "Get that fucking chopper here now!" He said furiously out of absolute terror as blood covered Danny and Martin's lifeless bodies.

--------------------------------------

Is this the end for Danny and Martin? Did Jack and the team arrive too late to rescue them? Stay tuned to find out. 


	6. Chapter 6

'Lost in the Woods'

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created.

Author's Note: Apologies for the delay in update. But unlike some readers believe, I have no plans of abandoning 'Lost in the Woods'. I just haven't had the time lately until now. And if anyone is interested, I'm currently working on the next chapter. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story. All inquiries/feedback about the story are welcome and appreciated and all inquiries will be answered.

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Chapter 6

"Jack, we need MedEvac now! Danny's not breathing and he doesn't have a pulse." Jeff yelled urgently and fearfully as he began CPR.

"Get me a goddamn MedEvac chopper now! We're losing them!" Jack yelled furiously but terrified.

"Martin!" Sam yelled crying fearfully.

"Martin can't hear you, Sam! He's not breathing and I just lost his pulse!" Jack said fearfully. "Get that fucking chopper here now!" He said furiously out of absolute terror as blood covered Danny and Martin's lifeless bodies.

Jack and Jeff continued struggling to revive Danny and Martin until the paramedics arrived in the MedEvac chopper. Once on the ground, Danny and Martin were hooked up to IV's, intubated and then placed inside the chopper as fast as possible, causing it to fly away after Jack and Jeff got in.

Once in the MedEvac chopper, paramedics tried for several minutes to resuscitate Danny and Martin, but they failed miserably.

"Keep working on them! You're not going to let them die!" Jack yelled furiously, out of fear, when the paramedics looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Sir, we've been trying for fifteen minutes." The female paramedic said seriously but compassionately as she and her partner injected medication into Danny and Martin's IV's and continued trying to revive them.

"Keep going, Julie." Mark, her male partner, said seriously. "All right. 360 Joules. Everyone, clear." He said seriously and they shocked Danny and Martin twice more. "Come on, damn it. That's it. Come on. That's it, buddy, hang on." He said hopeful as Martin's heart began beating very slowly.

"I'm not getting anything, Mark." Julie said seriously.

"Frank, what's our ETA?!" Mark yelled urgently to the pilot.

"ETA is five minutes!" The pilot yelled back in response.

"All right, listen to me." Mark said to Jeff seriously and put Jeff's hand to grab the AMBU Bag. "I need to help my partner with your other friend. So, I need you to squeeze this bag and give him some air. That's it." He said urgently and Jeff began giving Martin some much needed air as he squeezed the bag.

"Continue CPR. I'm giving him another milligram of Atropine. If this doesn't get him back, I don't know what will. Charging to 360. Clear." Mark said seriously as he injected more medication into Danny's IV and then shocked him twice more. "Damn it." He said frustrated as he checked Danny's vitals again.

Mark, the male paramedic, was preparing to shock Danny again when his partner stopped him.

"Wait! I'm getting a faint pulse!" Julie said urgently and she checked Danny's vitals. "Come on, honey. Fight it. Your friends need you here. Come on." She said somewhat urgently as she soothed Danny's head and face, causing Danny's heart to beat very slowly. "That's it, honey. Just hang on. You can do this." She said to Danny's motionless body.

"ETA, one minute! We got doctors already on the ground!" The pilot said loudly and then landed on the ground a minute later as several doctors and nurses stood by with gurneys and other life-saving equipment.

"What do we have?" Dr. Greg Winters said urgently as he and several nurses transferred Danny and Martin to gurneys and rushed them inside as quickly as possible.

"We've got Agents Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald. Taylor's got gunshot wounds to the chest, shoulder and leg with signs of infection. There are also signs of blunt force trauma throughout both bodies. Agent Fitzgerald sustained gunshot wounds to the carotid and shoulder and a graze to the head." Mark, the male paramedic, said urgently.

"How long were they down? What are their vitals?" Dr. Jeffery London said urgently as he treated Martin.

"They were down over twenty minutes without any vitals. We tried several amps of Epi and Atropine. Taylor's core temp is 106 degrees. Pulse is 45, BP's 50/45, GCS times three." Mark said seriously and urgently.

"What about Fitzgerald?" Dr. London said urgently as he and the others put tubes, wires and needles in every crevice of Danny and Martin's bodies.

"His temp is 104, Pulse 190, BP's 60/40, GCS times three." Julie said urgently.

"All right. I want full body scans, complete blood paneling and get me six units of O-Neg. I want them prepped for surgery now. Let's move." Dr. Winters said seriously and urgently and then quickly led Danny and Martin away.

_OUT IN THE WAITING ROOM…_

Although they fought to stay with Danny and Martin, nurses and security had Jack and Jeff wait outside. So, there they stood pacing the waiting room as the other patients in the ER nervously looked at the blood that now soaked their hands and clothing—the blood of their fallen friends.

At that moment, Sam came running into the ER as tears stained her face.

"Jack! Jeff!" Sam cried fearfully as she ran into the ER, causing them to take a hold of her. "What happened? Where are Danny and Martin? How are they doing?" She cried fearfully and they gently sat her down because she was shaking too violently.

"Calm down, honey. We don't know anything yet." Jeff said caringly as tears stained his face.

"What the hell are you talking about? You came with them." Sam quietly cried angrily out of fear as she shook, causing Jack to grab a hold of her hands.

"Calm down, Sam. Look, we tried to stay with Danny and Martin but they kicked us out. So, all we can do now is wait. Now, did you call Viv and tell her what happened?" Jack said a bit gruffly out of fear as he tightly held Sam's hands in his own.

"Yeah, I already called Viv and she's on her way over here. Chuck's team went over to St. Anthony's to make sure that Carr and his men are secured. But he's still at the office waiting for information on Danny and Martin." Sam cried upset and angrily because she wanted to kill Carr and his men for what they had done to Danny and Martin.

Jack was going to say something when a nurse came walking toward them.

"Excuse me, Sirs, Miss. Are you here for Agents Fitzgerald and Taylor?" The nurse asked gently and they immediately became fearful.

"What happened? How the hell are they?" Jack said gruffly but fear was clearly evident in his voice.

"I'm going to need you to calm down, Sir, okay. My name is Connie Williams and I'm one of the nurses who treated your agents when they came in. All I can tell you for now is that your agents are being prepped for surgery and there's nothing else you can do for the moment, except wait. However, I'm going to ask you to please follow me right now so that you can get cleaned up. You can use the showers in the hospital's locker room and I'll give you some clean scrubs to change into." The nurse said kindly.

"Thank you." Jeff said kindly as he sighed heavily.

"Miss, is there something I can do for you? Would you like some coffee?" Nurse Williams said kindly and Sam nodded.

"Thank you." Sam said with a heavy sigh.

"I'll be with you in just a few minutes. Gentlemen, please follow me." Nurse Williams said kindly and Jack and Jeff left with her, causing Sam to cover her face and cry softly but upset.

As Sam waited in the ER's waiting room, Nurse Williams showed Jack and Jeff to the doctor's locker room where they showered and changed into scrubs. Once they finished, they put their soiled clothing in a bag and headed to the waiting room where they found that Viv had already arrived.

"Viv." Jack said with a heavy sigh.

"Jack, is there any news on our boys yet?" Viv said with a heavy sigh.

"The only thing we were told is that they were being prepped for surgery. So, that's where they're probably at right now." Jack said seriously concerned.

"Excuse me. Are you here for Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald?" A woman said kindly as she wore surgical gear, causing Sam to immediately stand up from the chair.

"What's going on? What happened? How are they doing?" Jack said gruffly but fear was clearly evident in his voice.

"Please calm down, Sir. My name is Natalie and I'm working with the doctors who are treating your agents." Natalie said seriously concerned.

"What's wrong?" Jeff said knowingly of the nurse's concerned look.

"I need all of you to calm down. But the doctors sent me out here because your agents have lost a lot of blood and we don't have enough. We need to know if you're willing to…" Natalie said kindly but seriously concerned but couldn't finish when Jack quickly cut her off.

"You don't have to finish. Look, Taylor's blood is AB-Negative like mine. Just show me where to go." Jack said seriously but with conviction.

"We're all giving, Jack. You go ahead and while you finish, I'm going to call everyone at the office to see if they'll help our boys." Jeff said with conviction.

"All right. But we have to hurry. I can take two of you right now and then someone will come back for the others. So, please follow me." Natalie said urgently and then left with Jack and Sam, causing Jeff to immediately take out his cell phone and dial a number.

"This is Chuck, talk to me." Chuck said seriously.

"Chuck, it's me, Jeff. Listen. Get a message out to everyone right now. Our boys are in serious trouble and we need all the blood we can get or we're going to lose Danny and Martin." Jeff said urgently and seriously concerned.

"Like hell we're going to let that happen. I'll let everyone know and we'll be at St. Luke's soon. We got our boys back and we're not going to let them die now." Chuck said urgently.

"You guys need to hurry. All right. Bye." Jeff said seriously and urgently and then ended the call, causing Viv to sit next to him and take a hold of his hand when he fell into the seat shaking and tears escaped his eyes. "We can't lose them, Viv. I can't lose them. I know they're both a pain in the ass sometimes but I still care about them. They're like my kid brothers." Jeff quietly cried upset and tears escaped Viv's eyes as she took a protective hold of him.

"Shut up, okay. We're not going to lose our boys. Come on. Danny and Martin have been through worse but they've never given up and we're not going to give up now either. We're going to get them through this." Viv said soothingly as she tried to remain calm.

"I don't know about that, Viv. You should've heard Martin out there. The last thing he said to Jack was to forgive him for killing Danny. And even when paramedics got there, they couldn't get them back for almost twenty minutes. You know better than I do what they say about the amount of brain damage that being down that long can cause." Jeff quietly cried upset, causing Viv to grab a hold of his face and gently force Jeff to look at her.

"Look at me. Danny and Martin are going to be okay and we're all going to get them through this. But aside from giving blood, all we can do is to remain strong for them, okay. Now, we can either sit here feeling sorry for ourselves or we can get up and make sure that those nurses get more help back there. If I know our agents, they're going to come flood the hospital soon. So, let's make sure the staff is ready. Let's go." Viv said sternly but with compassionate undertones and then she and Jeff went to the front desk and advised them of the situation.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, many sirens were heard and flashing lights seen as dozens of FBI and NYPD police cruisers flushed the ER's parking lot. They shut down their cars and police officers and agents alike stormed the ER as they clamored, causing the other patients and visitors in the waiting room to look on amazed but also shocked at the dozens of FBI agents and police officers that now filled the ER.

"Jeff." Chuck said urgently as he made his way to Jeff and shook his hand. "I got the cavalry here, man. As soon as they found out what happened they hi-tailed it down here." Agent Chuck said urgently and at that moment, Jack and Sam appeared in the waiting room, causing them look on in shock at everyone around them.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get the blood going already. Those are our men in there." One agent said loudly and everyone clamored in agreement, causing several doctors and nurses to come out to the waiting room with a lot of equipment.

"Ladies and gentleman, may we have your attention?" One doctor said loudly and everyone immediately calmed down. "Thank you. All right, listen up. I know that all of you want to help out but you need to calm down. We only have a limited amount space back there…" He said compassionately but couldn't continue when a police officer cut him off.

"Screw that. Put some of inside, some out here or anywhere else in this damn hospital and take our blood that way. Make some space. Those are our men in there and we're wasting time out here." The officer shouted seriously and once again everyone clamored in agreement.

"All right, all right. Calm down. If you want to help, start by signing these forms. The sooner you sign them, the sooner we can get started." The doctor said sternly but compassionately and everyone began signing the forms to donate their blood. "All right. We're going to start with the first group of ten inside and I'm going to set up some chairs so that you can give out here. The most important thing right now is that everyone remains calm. Now, follow me and the rest of you wait here for the staff." He said kindly and then went inside the treatment area with ten agents and officers.

Within minutes, nurses began setting up chairs around the ER and even a large tent outside. Once set up, everyone began donating their blood. The amazing thing was that no one left the hospital because they refused to do so until they found out about Danny and Martin's conditions. So, they just sat around talking, eating and drinking amongst each other as the time passed.

After six hours of waiting, two doctors dressed in surgical gear, came out into the waiting area looking completely exhausted, causing the entire waiting room to become eerily quiet.

"We're looking for Agent Jack Malone." The doctors said seriously but kindly and Jack immediately went up to them and shook their hands.

"I'm Jack Malone. How are my men doing?" Jack said seriously and somewhat gruffly but fear was clearly evident in his voice.

"My name is Dr. Greg Winters and this is my esteemed colleague Dr. Jeffery London and we've been treating Mr. Taylor and Fitzgerald.

"What condition are they in?" Jeff said seriously as tears escaped his eyes, causing Viv to tightly hold his hand.

"Maybe it'd be best if…" Dr. Winters, Danny's doctor, tried but Jack quickly cut him off.

"Forget it. Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of them. We're family. Now, how are my men?" Jack said gruffly and then took a breath to calm down when Sam gently squeezed his arm.

"Very well then, Agent Malone. As for Agent Taylor, he received extensive internal bleeding which we were able to control. He also suffered six broken ribs, a ruptured spleen which we had to remove, broken cheekbones and hypothermia. What concerns me more than anything right now is the fact that the gunshot wounds he received have become infected and also the fact that both of his lungs collapsed. So, we had to put Agent Taylor on a ventilator." Dr. Winters said as gently as possible but Jack couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes.

"As to Agent Fitzgerald's condition…" Dr. London, Martin's doctor, explained as gently as possible and then continued. "He's got several broken ribs, collapsed lugs and his gunshot wounds are infected as well. We were able to control his internal bleeding and the wound to his neck but he lost a lot of blood. Unfortunately, he too, had to be put on a ventilator." He explained as gently as possible.

"What about the bullet wound to his head?" Viv asked softly as tears stained her face.

"The bullet didn't cause any severe damage. Just a few more inches and it would've killed him." Dr. London explained gently.

"What are their chances for survival?" One agent asked softly but shocked as fresh tears escaped his eyes.

To that question, both doctors sighed very heavily and stood quietly momentarily.

"Unfortunately, due to their extensive injuries and lack of life signs for over twenty minutes, it's possible that Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald suffered severe brain damage." Dr. London explained sadly but compassionately and everyone in that waiting room lowered their heads in sorrow and shock as tears escaped their eyes.

"Look, we're not saying that they're never going to regain consciousness. Now, there is a possibility that they'll make it through this. But the next twenty four hours are going to be crucial. In the meantime, you should go home because they can't have visitors in the ICU." Dr. Winters explained compassionately.

"We're not going anywhere." Jeff cried angrily but emotionally out of fear and Viv held his hand tighter.

"If you want to wait around, the chapel is opened twenty-four hours and everyone is free to go there. In the meantime, we're going to go check on Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald. We'll keep you informed of their conditions. Excuse us." Dr. London said sympathetically and then left with Dr. Winters.

"Thank you all for coming but you can all go home now." Jack said seriously but everyone could see how badly he was hurting.

"We're not going anywhere, Jack. Danny and Martin are family. All of us here are a family and we're not going to leave until we know that they're going to be okay. You can stay here if you want or you can join us. We're going to the chapel." Agent Chuck said softly but caringly as he gently squeezed Jack's forearm and left for the chapel with everyone else, causing everyone to gently pat the team's backs in support as they left the ER's waiting room and headed toward the chapel.

***************


	7. Chapter 7

'Lost in the Woods'

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created.

Chapter 7

"What are their chances for survival?" One agent asked softly but shocked as fresh tears escaped his eyes.

To that question, both doctors sighed very heavily and stood quietly momentarily.

"Unfortunately, due to their extensive injuries and lack of life signs for over twenty minutes, it's possible that Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald suffered severe brain damage." Dr. London explained sadly but compassionately and everyone in that waiting room lowered their heads in sorrow and shock as tears escaped their eyes.

"Look, we're not saying that they're never going to regain consciousness. Now, there is a possibility that they'll make it through this. But the next twenty four hours are going to be crucial. In the meantime, you should go home because they can't have visitors in the ICU." Dr. Winters explained compassionately.

"We're not going anywhere." Jeff cried angrily but emotionally out of fear and Viv held his hand tighter.

"If you want to wait around, the chapel is opened twenty-four hours and everyone is free to go there. In the meantime, we're going to go check on Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald. We'll keep you informed of their conditions. Excuse us." Dr. London said sympathetically and then left with Dr. Winters.

"Thank you all for coming but you can all go home now." Jack said seriously but everyone could see how badly he was hurting.

"We're not going anywhere, Jack. Danny and Martin are family. All of us here are a family and we're not going to leave until we know that they're going to be okay. You can stay here if you want or you can join us. We're going to the chapel." Agent Chuck said softly but caringly as he gently squeezed Jack's forearm and left for the chapel with everyone else, causing everyone to gently pat the team's backs in support as they left the ER's waiting room and headed toward the chapel.

As soon as the others left to the chapel, the rest of the team stayed behind in the ER. They sat quietly in the chairs as tears stained their faces. They couldn't believe what was happening, especially Jack.

"I'm going to kill those sons of bitches." Jack said through gritted teeth as fresh tears escaped his eyes, causing Sam to take a hold of his hand but he pushed away from her and stood up.

"Jack, don't do this. This wasn't your fault." Sam said sadly as she saw right through the guilt that Jack was feeling.

"That's bullshit and you know it, Sam. I should've gone looking for Danny and Martin the moment they didn't show up for work Monday morning. But instead, I sat on my ass and didn't do anything for them. And thanks to that decision, Danny and Martin might not make it through this. So, don't you dare tell me that this wasn't my fault. If it weren't for me, they would've been home sooner and they'd never been in the condition they're in now." Jack said viciously and then stormed out of the ER to be alone, causing Jeff to hold Sam when she cried distraught.

"Shhh. Don't cry like that, sweetie. Jack's just scared and upset about our boys. You know, we all do, that even though he doesn't say it, Jack cares about Danny and Martin like his own sons. He cares about all of us. He's just as afraid as us, of losing them. But that's not going to happen. We're going get Danny and Martin through this because they're our family and we take care of our own." Jeff cried caringly as he held Sam and also took a tight hold of Viv's hand in his own.

The hours passed and Sam, Viv and Jeff remained in the ER but Jack was no where to be found. Little did anyone know, Jack was at St. Anthony's Hospital waiting to see the monster who'd hurt his boys—_**Bobby 'The Snake' Carr.**_

"Jack, I know what they did but let justice handle this sadistic animal. Don't kill him." Agent Mike Masters, a long time friend of Jack's, said seriously but compassionately as he stood guarding Carr's hospital door.

"I'm not going to kill him, Mike. I just want to talk to him before I go back to the hospital to be with my family." Jack said seriously as he looked viciously through the window at Carr as he lay in bed sleeping.

"You only have two minutes, Jack, before the doctors come in to check on him." Agent Masters said seriously but compassionately.

"I only need one." Jack said with an evil smirk and then entered Carr's room.

As soon as he entered Carr's room, Jack turned off the monitors so they wouldn't alert doctors about him being there. He'd spent enough times in hospitals to know how to turn the monitors off without alerting attention to himself. Once he knew that the alarms wouldn't go off, he tightly covered Carr's mouth with a washcloth that was on top of the dresser next to Carr's bed, causing Carr to immediately wake up and look at Jack with a look of sheer terror as he began shaking.

"Shut the hell up you piece of garbage. You're going to pay for what you did to my men. I'm going to make sure that you get yours in prison and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. What you put my men through won't compare to what you're going to go through, you filthy maggot. " Jack whispered viciously as he grabbed a hold of Carr's injured leg and squeezed it and then he smiled evilly when Carr screamed muffled but in complete agony.

All of a sudden, an urgent tap came to the window.

"Jack, get out now." Agent Masters whispered urgently as he opened Carr's hospital room door.

"No matter what you say, no one's going to believe that I was here. But remember, you're going to regret the day you ever messed with my men, my family, you miserable garbage. No one messes with my family. No one." Jack whispered viciously as he tightly squeezed Carr's throat and then left the room after he turned on the monitors, leaving Carr coughing and gasping violently for air as he shook violently.

"Can I help you, Sir?" A doctor said kindly as he ran into Jack in the hall in front of Carr's room.

"I just came by to check on the suspect's condition. He shot and tortured two of our agents and now they're fighting to survive." Jack said seriously.

"I'm sorry about, Sir. I hope they make it. As for the suspect, his injuries aren't life-threatening and he'll be ready to be released in two or three days. So, you'll be able to take him into custody then." The doctor said kindly.

"That's good to know. Well, I'm going to go check on our men now and see how they're doing. Thank you, Doctor." Jack said kindly as he shook the doctor's hand and then left, arriving at the hospital thirty minutes later.

When Jack arrived at the ER thirty minutes later, he found Jeff, Sam and Viv sleeping in the waiting room, causing Jeff to wake up gasping violently when Jack gently grabbed his arm.

"Shhh. Calm down, Jeff. It's me, Jack." He said gruffly but quietly.

"Jack? You scared the shit out of me. Where the hell have you been? We were worried sick about you." Jeff said gruffly as he took a deep breath and tried to regain his composure.

"I'm sorry about storming out of here like that. I just had to get away." Jack said with a frustrated sigh as he and Jeff walked away to the corner of the ER so that Viv and Sam wouldn't wake up.

"Where did you go?" Jeff said with a heavy sigh as he yawned.

"I just paid a little visit to Carr over at St. Anthony's." Jack suddenly said with an eerie smile, causing Jeff to bug out fearfully because he knew the types of things Jack was capable of doing to anyone who hurt his team or his family, very bad things that he could easily get away with.

"Jack…" Jeff whispered fearfully as his eyes bugged out but Jack quickly cut him off.

"Relax, Jeff. I didn't kill the bastard if that's what you're thinking. I just had a little talk with him and made sure he knew how much he's going to pay for coming after my family." Jack said softly but with that sickening eerie smile, a smile so evil that it always scared Jeff whenever he'd see it because he knew that it wasn't good.

"What about the rest of Carr's accomplices?" Jeff said uncertain and shuddered as Jack's smile grew and his eyes narrowed in sick pleasure.

"They're on ice where they should be. I never miss my mark. You know that." Jack said evilly as he smiled.

"Jack…" Jeff said calmly but also a bit fearful.

"All right, cool off. I'm just messing with you, Jeff. I know how scared you get when I get that crazy look in my eyes. You know that I'd never do anything to ruin my career." Jack suddenly chuckled amused as tears of both laughter and pain escaped his eyes.

"You asshole." Jeff said crossly and then huffed irately like a petulant child when Jack laughed more. "All right, you jackass, you got me. Now, what did you figure out about Carr's accomplices?" He said crossly but caringly as he sighed heavily in relief.

"Carr is waiting to be released in two or three days. But he won't be having any company because Gershon, Prichard and Nichols died like the maggots they are. They died on the scene from their gunshot wounds. But when Carr gets released, he's going to have a fun surprise waiting for him where he's going." Jack said seriously and then smiled evilly as he tilted his head and looked at Jeff.

"What?" Jeff said uneasily as he shifted uncomfortably at Jack's look.

"How do you think Raphael Alvarez is going to react when he finds out 1.) That Danny, his baby brother, is possibly dying and 2.) That his torturer is going to be going to the same prison he's in right now?" Jack said seriously as he narrowed his eyes and smiled evilly, causing Jeff to look at him concerned.

"Jack, I want revenge on this damn animal as much as you do. We all do. But you need to be very careful about what you're planning to do." Jeff whispered very concerned.

"I'm not going to do anything. I'm just going to make sure that Carr arrives over to the prison without trying anything stupid. What happens after that is not my responsibility." Jack said seriously. "What about Danny and Martin? Is there any news on them?" He said concerned but Jeff shook his head as he sighed heavily.

"The nurses just tell us that we can't see our boys because they're in the ICU. Apparently, there's still no change but I can't take it anymore, Jack." Jeff suddenly said softly but hurt as the tears he'd been holding back escaped his eyes, causing Jack to suddenly grab a tight hold of him and hold the back of his head.

"You think this is easy for me, hmm? I blame myself because they were in those damn woods with those sociopaths because I didn't go after them on Monday morning. But we can't change what happened. All we can do now is be here for them now and when they wake up. They will get through this. You hear me? Hmm? They've been in worse situations before and we've never given up on them and we're not going to start now." Jack said sternly but caringly as tears escaped his eyes.

"But…" Jeff cried sadly but Jack took a hold of his face and forced Jeff to look at him. "Okay, I'm sorry. I won't give up on Danny or Martin. I promise." He cried sadly when Jack looked at him harshly.

"Excuse me." Agent Chuck said kindly as he stood behind Jack and Jeff with several agents.

"What's going on?" Jack said tiredly but kindly.

"Here. We'd just figured that you guys were hungry and cold so we got you some food and some blankets." Agent Chuck said kindly as he and the other agents gave them two bags filled with food and then gently woke up Sam and Viv. "Sweethearts, if you want to stay here, you're going to have to eat. You can't very well look after Danny and Martin if you stop taking care of yourselves." He said caringly as they awakened Sam and Viv.

"Thank you, Chuck." Sam and Viv said kindly as they began eating.

"Has there been change with our guys?" One agent said kindly but tiredly.

"Not yet and they won't let us see them." Jeff said with a heavy sigh.

All of sudden, there was a page over the speaker system that nearly made everyone present sick to their stomachs.

"Dr. Greg Winters. Dr. Greg Winters treating Patient Taylor, please report to the ICU immediately. Dr. Winters, report to the ICU immediately." A nurse relayed urgently through the speaker system.

Those words caused the team, Agent Chuck and the other two agents with them, to gasp in complete horror.

"Code Blue in ICU. Code Blue in ICU." A nurse said urgently through the speaker.

As soon as they heard that, everyone gasped in complete horror as tears stained their faces, causing them to push through security and run for dear life until they reached the locked doors of the ICU.

**************

Is this the end for our Danny? Stay tuned to find out soon.


	8. Chapter 8

'Lost in the Woods'

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created.

Chapter 8

All of a sudden, there was a page over the speaker system that nearly made everyone present, sick to their stomachs.

"Dr. Greg Winters. Dr. Greg Winters treating Patient Taylor, please report to the ICU immediately. Dr. Winters, report to the ICU immediately." A nurse relayed urgently through the speaker system.

Those words caused the team, Agent Chuck and the other two agents with them, to gasp in complete horror.

"Code Blue in ICU. Code Blue in ICU." A nurse said urgently through the speaker.

As soon as they heard that, everyone gasped in complete horror as tears stained their faces, causing them to push through security and run for dear life until they reached the locked doors of the ICU.

The doors were locked but everyone could see through the small windows on the ICU doors that there was a flurry of doctors and nurses running into one of the rooms with a crash cart and other equipment, causing Jack to angrily bang on the doors as he tried to get someone's attention inside, but to no avail.

Fifteen minutes passed and everyone remained standing by the doors. They were desperate for information but no one had come out to talk to them. All of a sudden, they saw Dr. Winters coming to the door and stepped back.

"Doc, what the hell is going on? How's Danny and where the hell is Martin?" Jack said harshly out of fear as he shook and tears stained everyone's faces, causing Dr. Winters to sigh heavily.

"Please follow me. There are some things that we need to discuss." Dr. Winters said as gently as possible and then led Jack and the others to a private family room where they all sat down.

"What the hell is going on? We heard over the speaker calling for you for Patient Taylor and then a code blue. Now, what the hell going on?" Jeff cried harshly as fresh tears escaped his eyes and he shook, causing Viv to grab a tight hold of his hand in between both of her own.

"I'm truly sorry but Agent Taylor…Agent Taylor went into cardiac arrest." Dr. Winters explained as gently as possible and everyone gasped in horror as more tears escaped their eyes.

"Is he…" Jack cried shocked but couldn't continue as he shook.

"No, Agent Taylor isn't dead. We were able to get him back but he's running a very high fever and we had to put a cooling blanket and cap on him to try to bring it down. Now, I'm very sorry but Agent Taylor's chances of survival, especially after this is very minimal. I spoke with my other colleagues and we agreed that it's very possible, because of all the factors involved, that Agent Taylor…won't make it to tomorrow." Dr. Winters said regretfully and as gently as possible, causing everyone to cover their faces and cry distraught over the next fifteen minutes.

"Can we see him? Please." Viv cried sorrowfully.

"Given the situation, I'm going to sign a special authorization to allow you and the others a chance to see him. But you'll only have five minutes." Dr. Winters explained gently but kindly.

"What about Martin? How is he?" Sam cried upset.

"Agent Fitzgerald is still in critical condition and there isn't any change in his condition.

"Can we see him?" Sam cried upset.

"It's not our policy to allow visitors now but I'm going to make an exception. I'll allow Agent Fitzgerald visitors but you can only stay for five minutes. And you'll have to wear full protective gear in order to see either of them." Dr. Winters said sympathetically.

"Jack, someone has to tell Danny's bother, Rafi." Jeff cried softly but sorrowfully.

"I'll take care of that. You guys see Danny and Martin first while I go to the prison." Jack cried softly but he was destroyed inside. He couldn't believe or accept that he was going to lose Danny and possibly Martin also. "When can we see them?" He said softly.

"I'm going to get all the paperwork ready. I'll also have a nurse come get you one by one and have you dressed in the protective gear. Once that's done, you'll be able to see Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald but only for five minutes. I'm truly sorry. Excuse me." Dr. Winters said sympathetically and then returned to the ICU.

"You guys stay here and see Danny and Martin first. I'm going to head to the prison, talk to Rafi and see if they'll let me bring him down." Jack cried softly as he tried to remain strong and then left.

"You guys go ahead and stay here. We're going to head down to the chapel and let everyone know what's going on. Either way, though, we can't give up on our boys now. Excuse me." Agent Chuck softly cried sadly and then left to the chapel with the other two agents after they embraced Jeff, Sam and Viv.

While Jeff, Sam and Viv waited to see Danny and Martin, Jack headed to Riker's Island in search of Danny's brother, Rafi.

_WEDNESDAY, 6 AM_

_RIKERS ISLAND_

Jack arrived at the prison and talked with the prison's warden. He explained the situation with Danny and how he wasn't expected to live any longer than the next few hours. He showed the necessary paperwork proving that Danny and Rafi were brothers and also paperwork proving Danny's grave situation. So, the warden had Rafi awakened by guards and taken to the visiting room, causing Rafi to look confused when he saw Jack staring back at him.

"Jack? What are you doing here?" Rafi said confused as Jack shook his hand.

"Rafi, sit down. We have to talk." Jack said softly as they sat down but he couldn't help how broken his voice sounded.

"What's going on, Jack? Visiting hours aren't allowed at this time. What happened?" Rafi said calmly but obviously fearful.

"I came to get you, Rafi." Jack said softly as his voice broke and couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes and streamed down his face, causing Rafi to bug out fearfully.

"Is it my little brother? Is it Danny? Tell me, Jack. What the hell is going on?" Rafi said angrily but fearfully as tears escaped his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rafi. I really am. Danny went hiking this weekend with Martin. During that time, they ran into some wanted suspects in the woods. Danny and Martin were tortured and now they're in St. Luke's. Earlier, before coming here, Danny went into cardiac arrest. They were able to get him back but he's got a very high fever and due to the injuries he suffered, doctors are saying that Danny…that Danny won't make it to tomorrow." Jack cried softly as he tried to remain strong, causing Rafi to shriek crying violently furious and distraught as he hit the table.

"Calm down, okay. I know that this is hard as hell but we can't give up on Danny now. He needs us, okay. Look, we both know that Danny's been in worse situations where everyone was certain that he wouldn't make it through. But Danny's never given up before and he's gotten through everything." Jack cried sternly but with compassionate undertones.

"Son of a bitch! Who the hell hurt my baby brother?!" Rafi cried furiously.

"There were four guys. Three are dead and the main guy is still alive waiting to be transferred to the prison. We can discuss that later but right now, we have to get out of here and go to the hospital. We can see Danny but only for five minutes." Jack said sternly but caringly and then signaled for the guards.

"We're ready to go. He's not a flight risk. Just cuff his hands on the front." Jack said seriously as he sniffled and tears stained his face, causing Jack, Rafi and two officers to leave the prison and go to the hospital.

_BACK IN THE HOSPITAL…_

Viv, dressed in protective gear, entered Danny's ICU room. As soon as she saw Danny, Viv began quietly crying distraught. She took a hold of Danny's cold lifeless hand in her own as she carefully soothed and kissed his head and face like a child. She sat down next to Danny's bed and cried as she tightly held Danny's hand. Viv couldn't believe that this was her Danny, who was like a son to her. She couldn't believe the sight before her as Danny lay in bed with tubes, needles, wires and weird machines covering every crevice of Danny's frail body.

"What do you think you're doing here, Danny? Hmm? You're not going to leave us. We love you too much to let you go. You have to wake up, sweetheart. We're a family and you and Martin are the babies in our family. Everyone loves you so much that there's dozens of our fellow brothers and sister law enforcement here in the hospital waiting for you and Martin to get your lazy butts out of bed." Viv cried caringly as she softly soothed Danny's face and kissed his hand.

"So, you see? You can't disappoint everyone out there who came to see you. And just like you can't disappoint them, you can't disappoint all those pretty girls who've been taking care of you. You've got to show them the real Danny Taylor and that cute little butt of yours." Viv softly chuckled crying but then cried sadly and held Danny's hand tightly in between both of her own.

"Wake up, sweetie. You can't let those animals win. You've got your entire life ahead of you. You have to come back to us and prove these stupid doctors wrong. Prove to them and to us, _your family,_ that you're not a quitter and that they don't know what the hell they're talking about. Show us that you're not a coward and that you're going to fight for your life and walk out of this hospital one hundred percent recovered without any permanent damage." Viv cried sternly but emotionally as she sniffled and Danny's heart sped up a little faster.

"Shhh. Shhh. I know that you're scared, Danny, but you're safe now. You're here in the hospital, with _your family_ and I swear on my life that we're going to take care of you. We're not going to let anyone hurt you again. I promise. But you have to wake up, sweetheart. I know that you're scared but you have to wake up and come back to us. You have to." Viv cried with conviction as she soothed and kissed Danny's face and head repeatedly, causing her to cry more when Danny's heart slowed down to a safe level.

After that, Viv couldn't talk anymore. So, she did the only thing she could and continued crying sadly as she soothed and kissed Danny repeatedly—like a mother, caring for her sick child. She continued crying until a nurse entered the room and informed Viv that visiting time was over. Viv reluctantly left Danny's side and retreated to the waiting room once again as she continued to cry, causing Jeff to embrace her as he sighed heavily and fresh tears escaped his eyes.

"Who's going to see Agent Taylor next?" The nurse asked kindly.

"This is Danny's brother, Rafael Alvarez. He's going to see Danny." Jack said seriously but kindly and the nurse nodded and led Rafi inside.

Rafi wanted to be alone with Danny but the officers refused to leave him alone. After several minutes, Jack convinced the officers that Rafi wasn't a flight risk and that he wouldn't try anything to escape from their custody. So, they decided to let him stay alone with Danny with the condition that his wrists and ankles were to remain shackled. After agreeing, Rafi got dressed in protective gear and was immediately cuffed.

Rafi entered Danny's room fully clothed in protective gear and immediately began crying despondently as he took a carefully tight hold of Danny's hand and laid his head on Danny's shoulder. He stood there crying and shaking for more than a minute.

"Danny, you have to wake up. You can't give up now. You've never given up on anything in your life so why are you going to stop now? Hmm? Even when papi was a stupid drunk and he'd beat us up really bad, you always stood up to him. So, wake the hell up now and get out of this bed. You can't let these animals get away with what they've done to you and Martin." Rafi cried upset and angrily but out of fear and pain, causing him to panic when the monitors began beeping erratically and Dr. Winters entered the room.

"What's going on?" Rafi cried angrily and fearfully as he shook and Dr. Winters checked Danny's vitals, causing him to get angry when Dr. Winters injected something into Danny's IV and the monitors beeped slowly. "What the hell did you do to him?" He cried angrily as he held Danny's hand tighter.

"Sir, you need to calm down or I'll have to remove you from the room." Dr. Winters said sternly but compassionately. "Look, right now, his heart is very weak and unstable and I'm trying to keep him from going into cardiac arrest again. So, I gave him medication that's going to make him more comfortable. But I'm very sorry. Like I explained to Agent Malone before, Agent Taylor's chances of survival, especially after this, is very minimal. I'm sorry. Excuse me." Dr. Winters explained compassionately and then left the room after he disposed of the used syringe, vial and gloves.

As soon as Dr. Winters left the room, Rafi cried distraught and furiously as he laid his head on Danny's shoulder.

"Son of a bitch!" Rafi cried angrily and distraught as he thought of Carr and his men. "Damn it. Danny, you have to wake up. We need you so much—your friends, me, my family, all of us. You can't leave us. We love you so much. Look, I promise you that I'm going to find out who hurt you and I'm going to make him pay with his life. I swear on my life. But you have to wake up, little brother. Please, wake up." He cried distraught as he soothed and kissed Danny's face and continued crying for five more minutes until someone opened the door and entered Danny's room.

"I'm very sorry, Sir. But I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Time is up." A nurse said regretfully and compassionately as she gave Rafi a sympathetic look, causing Rafi to cry more distraught as he regretfully let go of Danny. "Come on." She said sympathetically and carefully led Rafi out of Danny's room and out to the waiting room, where Jack was.

"Where are those pricks?" Rafi cried upset of the corrections officers as he sat down.

"I called the prison and talked to the warden. I asked if they'd release you into our custody until…" Jack tried but couldn't continue as his voice broke and fresh tears escaped his tears. "Anyway, at first he was angry and wouldn't do it but I wouldn't give in. I told him that you weren't a flight risk and that you were going to be in my custody and also guarded by dozens of police officers and agents. The little prick finally agreed and sent the officers back to the prison." Jack said seriously.

"But you lied. There's no one here except for you guys." Rafi cried upset.

"That's where you're wrong, Rafi. There are dozens of cops and agents in the hospital's chapel right now, praying for Danny's recovery." Jack said a bit seriously but proudly.

"Agent Malone?" A nurse asked kindly and with a warm, sympathetic smile as she entered the ICU's waiting room.

"Yeah?" Jack said fearfully.

"Calm down. My name is Nurse Vicky. I just came to inform you that Dr. Winters has allowed for you to come in to see your friend next, if you'd like. If you would like to see him, I need you to come with me so that we can dress you in protective clothing." She said kindly.

"Jeff, Sam, Viv, keep an eye on Rafi and don't let him out of your sight." Jack said seriously and they nodded as they surrounded Rafi, causing Jack to suddenly whisper inaudibly in Rafi's ear and then squeeze his shoulder tightly. "Let's go." He said kindly and then let with Nurse Vicky into the ICU.

After dressing in protective gear, Jack entered Danny's ICU and sat next to Danny, holding Danny's cold and lifeless hand in both of his own. He began crying quietly but distraught as he held Danny's hand tighter.

"I can't believe this is happening. Look, I know that I'm a hard ass with you sometimes but that doesn't mean that I don't care about you. I only do it to protect you because you're my family, you all are. But _you're_ like the son that I never had. That's why you have to get through this, Son. I don't give a damn what these doctors think. You have to get through this. You're not going make us suffer by leaving us here alone, are you? No, you're not, because we're not going to let you." Jack cried softly but also angrily and emotionally.

"You love us too much to let us go and so do we. We can't make it without you, Danny—our youngest. Not only that, but you can't disappoint all those hot nurses who are taking care of you and every woman in the office. They're all here swooning over you and fighting over you to see who's going to take care of you. Yeah, I know that you're enjoying the thought, Casanova. But you can't enjoy their company until you wake up. So, hurry up and wake your ass up, you lazy brat." Jack cried with a smile but then cried distraught, no matter how much he wanted to laugh, he was deeply terrified of losing Danny.

"Please, wake up, Danny. Wake up, Son. Wake up." Jack quietly cried distraught as he held Danny's hand.

Jack sat there crying softly as he tightly held Danny's hand in both his own. He couldn't accept that he was going to lose Danny. So, Jack did the only thing that he could and remained by Danny's side as he prayed silently.

_Danny's in a dark place but he isn't in pain and he feels at peace. But there is something unsettling about the darkness that surrounds him in this place. In the distance he hears what sounds like crying. He frowns, he doesn't understand–why would someone cry for me, Danny thought. He notices that the voice is filled with pain. Someone is hurting for him, a lot. Danny doesn't want to leave this pain-free place but he somehow knows that he should go to the voice. Suddenly, a white light appears, small at first, and he walks towards it. As he does, the pained voice becomes louder and clearer. He walks through the light and slowly opens his eyes, to find himself in the hospital, causing him to grimace in agony as he was filled with pain once again. He tries to speak but finds it impossible because there's something in his throat._

Danny saw Jack holding his hand and crying and his eyes went wild with terror. He wanted to tell Jack that he was okay but he couldn't. Slowly, he was able to move his fingers as he tried to get Jack's attention.

Jack frowned. He could have sworn that he felt Danny moving his fingers. But that was impossible because Dr. Winters had already told him and the others that Danny was going to die. He felt the pressure again, but stronger this time. He looked up and saw that Danny's eyes were open and that Danny was looking at him.

"Oh, my God! Danny?!" Jack exclaimed hopeful but in complete shock as tears stained his face, causing Jack to let his head fall to Danny's bed as he cried in relief and tightly held Danny's hand in between both his own, when tears escaped Danny's eyes.

***************


	9. Chapter 9

'Lost in the Woods'

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created.

Author's Note: If anyone is still reading this story, thank you and I also apologize for the very long delay in updating. My old laptop broke in November and I finally got a new one today. So, here's a small piece. Hope to have the next chapter put up in a day or two. Enjoy.

Chapter 9

Jack sat there crying softly as he tightly held Danny's hand in both his own. He couldn't accept that he was going to lose Danny. So, Jack did the only thing that he could and remained by Danny's side as he prayed silently.

_Danny's in a dark place but he isn't in pain and he feels no fear. But there is something a bit unsettling about the darkness that surrounds him in this place. In the distance he hears what sounds like crying. He frowns, he doesn't understand–why would someone cry for me, Danny thought. He notices that the voice is filled with pain. Someone is hurting for him, a lot. Danny doesn't want to leave this pain-free place but he somehow knows that he should go to the voice. Suddenly, a white light appears, small at first, and he walks towards it. As he does, the pained voice becomes louder and clearer. He walks through the light and slowly opens his eyes, to find himself in the hospital, causing him to grimace in agony as he was filled with pain once again. He tries to speak but finds it impossible because there's something in his throat._

Danny saw Jack holding his hand and crying and his eyes went wild with terror. He wanted to tell Jack that he was okay but he couldn't. Slowly, he was able to move his fingers as he tried to get Jack's attention.

Jack frowned. He could have sworn that he felt Danny moving his fingers. But that was impossible because Dr. Winters had already told him and the others that Danny was going to die. He felt the pressure again, but stronger this time. He looked up and saw that Danny's eyes were open and that Danny was looking at him.

"Oh, my God! Danny?!" Jack exclaimed hopeful but in complete shock as tears stained his face, causing Jack to let his head fall to Danny's bed as he cried in relief and tightly held Danny's hand in between both his own, when tears escaped Danny's eyes.

As Danny lay in bed, all the memories of what happened during his and Martin's hike in the woods came back to him, like a raging firestorm. He remembered everything and began panicking, especially when he thought of his best friend. Where the hell was Martin? Was he dead? Was he alive? The last time he saw his best friend, Carr was going to execute them both and Martin was covered in blood. Wait a minute, Carr, Danny thought fearfully and his eyes widened in horror as he began struggling to try to move but couldn't.

As Danny panicked, all of the monitors began shrilling violently, causing Jack to immediately see the raw fear in his eyes. But just at that moment, when Jack was going to comfort Danny, a flurry of nurses and doctors rushed into the room.

"You need to leave, Agent Malone." Dr. Winters said urgently and seriously as he began preparing a syringe.

"I'm not going anywhere! I'm not leaving Danny alone! He's scared out of his mind! Look at him!" Jack said furiously as tears stained every crevice of his face and he grabbed a carefully tight hold of Danny's face in his hands.

"Danny, Danny, calm down. Look at me." Jack said fearfully as his hands shook but Danny continued panicking and struggling to get free from the hands that were grabbing at him. "Damn it! I said look at me! Look at me right now before I kick your sorry ass!" Jack said angrily out fear as he tried to get Danny to calm down but Danny looked at him fearfully as tears stained his face and he had a look of sheer terror in his eyes. "Damn it. Calm down, okay. It's me, Jack. I know that you're scared but you're safe, Danny. You're at the hospital. Do you understand me, Danny? You're in the hospital. You're not in those damn woods and we got those sons of bitches, okay. We got them and they can't hurt you anymore." Jack said sternly but caringly and Danny began shaking violently as he tried desperately, with pleading eyes, to ask where his best friend was. "Shhh. Calm down and relax, okay. Martin's not dead, all right and neither are you. You're both here in the ICU but you're improving and soon you'll be out of here. Now, calm your ass down before they give you a sedative." Jack said sternly but with compassionate undertones.

As soon as he heard how harsh Jack was being, Danny knew that he and Martin were really safe. He couldn't believe though. He and Martin were safe and free of those bastards. He didn't have to be afraid anymore. So, Danny did the only thing he could do. He let his body sag in defeat as he stopped struggling to run away. Danny lay there shaking in bed as he silently cried distraught but relieved, causing him to hold on for dear life to Jack's hand when Jack took a hold of it in his hands.

"Agent Taylor, can you hear me? My name is Dr. Greg Winters and I've been treating you since you came in. Can you understand me? I need you to blink once for yes and two for no." Dr. Winters said compassionately and began assessing Danny's silently cry in agony the doctor examined his body. "All right. You rest a few minutes." He said kindly to Danny as Danny shook crying and then turned to Jack. "I need to speak with you outside. Follow me." He said concerned and then looked at his nurse.

"Get him ready. I want a full body MRI, stat." Dr. Winters said seriously and then led Jack outside to the waiting room.

"What the hell happened? We heard alarms and a lot people running inside." Rafi said angrily but fear was clearly evident on his voice.

"Rafi, calm down. Danny's awake." Jack said harshly and then looked at Dr. Winters as everyone gasped in complete shock. "You were saying?" He said seriously.

"Look, I know that you're relieved that Agent Taylor is awake but he is still not out of danger. His health is very critical right now. That's why I'm ordering a full body MRI as well as extensive. I'm certainly hoping for the best but in either case, you should be prepared. Excuse me." Dr. Winters said seriously concerned and then went inside to continue treating Danny.

"How is he, Jack? How's Danny." Jeff said fearfully.

"Well, he's awake but he was disoriented. When he first woke up, Danny panicked and tried getting rid of everything so that he could run away." Jack said with a heavy sigh as he massaged his aching head and neck.

"What?" Sam said fearfully.

"Calm down. He reacted like that because he was scared shitless and thought that he was still in the woods with those freakin' sociopaths. Then, he thought that Martin was dead. But I was able to calm down him. Now, thought, all we can do is wait to see happens with our boys. So, what's going on Martin? Is he awake yet?" Jack said concerned.

"No, he's not awake yet and Dr. London says that he needs another transfusion." Sam said very concerned and tiredly as she sighed heavily and fresh tears escaped her eyes. "He looks horrible, Jack." She softly said sadly.

"All we can do is wait, Sam. There's nothing else we can do." Jack said with exhausted sigh as he held her.


	10. Chapter 10

'Lost in the Woods'

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. I also have no medical knowledge, so don't blame me if something medical is inaccurate. This is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy.

Chapter 10

"All we can do is wait, Sam. There's nothing else we can do." Jack said with exhausted sigh as he held her.

Jack and the others continued talking for several minutes, when the elevator opened and Agent Chuck, and several officers entered the ICU waiting room.

"Jack, is there any news on our boys? Is Danny…" Agent Chuck tried but couldn't continue as his voice broke and Jack quickly cut him off.

"Danny isn't dead, Chuck." Jack said with a smile and they all cheered. "Shhh. Keep it down. Look, Danny's awake but he's still not out of danger. In fact, Dr. Winters already ordered a lot of tests for him, including a full body MRI. And he doesn't know yet if Danny's breathing on his own. So, we have to wait." Jack said a bit seriously out of concern but Agent Chuck shook his head.

"Don't even think that, Jack. Danny's going to be okay. You'll see. Now that he's awake, he's not going to let the freakin' grim reaper take him away from his family, friends and especially all the pretty nurses who are going to be fighting each other just to take care of him." Agent Chuck said with conviction and everyone, especially Jack, couldn't help but laugh amused at Chuck's comments; Danny loved women swooning over him. "No. Danny's not going anywhere." He said with conviction as he smiled and took a deep breath; breathing deeply in relief.

"Agent Malone, what about your other agent? Agent Fitzgerald, is it? How is he doing?" Captain Mike Randall, of the NYPD, asked respectfully and Jack nodded toward Sam. "Miss?" He asked respectfully but concerned.

"Dr. London said that Martin still hasn't regained consciousness and that he's going to need another blood transfusion. So, all we can do is wait to see how things turn out." Sam said softly but hurt as fresh tears escaped her eyes.

"If you need more blood for Agent Fitzgerald, I can put a call out right now to headquarters and the other stations. Do you need a specific type? What blood type does he have?" Captain Randall said concerned.

"Thank you very much. We appreciate everything that you guys have done for us." Jack said very grateful as he shook Captain Randall's hand.

"There's no need to thanks us. We're all a family, you know that. We take care of each other no matter what, Agent Malone." Captain Randall said kindly. "Now, what's Agent Fitzgerald's blood type?" He said kindly.

"Call me Jack. And Martin's blood type is blood type AB-Negative." Jack said with a heavy sigh.

"All right. Well, I'm going to head to headquarters and put the word out and we'll be back as quick as we can. Excuse me." Captain Randall said a bit urgently and left for police headquarters.

"We'll be back, Jack. We're going to head downstairs to let the others know what's going on." Agent Chuck said kindly as he sighed heavily in relief but that relief was short-lived when an alarm sounded, causing everyone to become fearful when they saw Dr. Winters running into one of the rooms as a nurse came outside to the waiting room.

"Agent Malone!" The nurse said urgently as she entered the waiting room. "Look, this isn't our policy but Dr. Winters is calling for you. We're trying to move your agent down to Radiology but he's completely panicked. Dr. Winters said to see if you can calm him down. Otherwise, for his own safety, he's going to have to put Agent Taylor in an induced coma to stop him from hurting himself further. He's still not out of danger yet." Nurse Vicky said urgently and she and Jack ran to Danny's room.

As soon as Jack went into the room, his eyes widened in horror and his heart sunk to the floor. Danny's eyes were wide with terror and tears stained every crevice of his face as he struggled against Dr. Winters and his staff to remove the ET Tube and all of the tubes and wires that were invading his body and were causing him so much pain.

"Danny! Danny, calm your ass down right now and look at me! I said look at me, damn it!" Jack said harshly as he took a carefully tight hold of Danny's face, causing Danny to grimace in agonizing pain because his entire body felt as if it were on fire. "Damn it. Look at me and calm down. Calm your ass down right now or they're going to give you drugs and put you in a coma. Is that what you want, you little prick?" Jack said harshly and Danny shook violently as he stopped struggling against everyone. "I didn't think so." He said harshly and then sighed heavily when Danny grimaced in agonizing pain again as tears stained every crevice of his face.

"Shhh. Listen to me, okay. I know how bad you're hurting right now but the doc has to do some tests before he can give you anything for pain. The sooner you calm down, the sooner they can give you something for pain and the sooner you'll be moved out of here and rid of this tube. But that's not going to happen if you keep losing control. Now, stay calm. That's an order. Do you understand me? There are a lot of people out there waiting to see you but that's not going to happen if you can't calm down and control yourself." Jack said sternly but caringly and then couldn't help but laugh when Danny gave him a look so dirty as if he wanted to beat Jack senseless.

"Calm down. I'm not lying to you, okay. Everyone from FBI Headquarters and even NYPD, is out there waiting for you. As soon as everyone learned what happened to you and Martin, everyone started giving blood and they haven't left the hospital. They refuse to leave until they know that you two are okay and out of danger. The team is out there too. But there's a special visitor who came to see you and he wants to see you again." Jack said with a smile and Danny silently cried emotionally and pained as he continued shaking and tried to put his hand to his mouth but Jack snagged it.

"I know, Danny. I know. But if you want the tube out, you're going to have to calm down and stop losing control. Otherwise, it's just going to stay in longer. Look, you've got all those people out there waiting for you, especially Rafi, Danny." Jack said sternly but compassionately and then smiled when Danny weakly squeezed his hand and looked at him expectantly. "I'm not lying, Danny-boy. Rafi's out there waiting to see you along with everyone else. I talked to the warden and he granted temporary custody of Rafi, to us. It wasn't easy but I convinced him that Rafi was going to be in custody, surrounded by dozens of agents and NYPD and that he wasn't going to run." Jack said caringly and Danny thrashed a bit as he tried looking to the door.

"Take it easy, Agent Taylor. Your visitors aren't allowed to see you again until we make sure that you haven't hurt yourself further with all thrashing. However, if your results show that your health is improving, I'll allow your visitors to see you for only several minutes. But Agent Taylor, if that is to happen, you must lose control. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to put you into a very deep sleep and I will not allow you to awaken until you're completely out of danger." Dr. Winters said sternly but compassionately, causing Danny to look at him fearfully as fresh tears escaped his eyes and he tried to shake his head.

"Calm down and don't move, Agent Taylor. I know that you don't want that to happen and I don't want to do that either. So, you're going to have to work with me. Now, I have to run those tests on you so I have to ask your friend to leave." Dr. Winters explained gently but Danny tightly closed his eyes and weakly, but tightly, squeezed Jack's hand as fresh tears escaped his eyes.

"Shhh. I'll be outside with the others and as soon as the doc here, gives the okay, I'll be back." Jack said caringly but Danny squeezed his hand again and grimaced in pain as he breathed a bit erratically through his nose. "Shhh. I understand, Son." He said compassionately as he gently squeezed Danny's hand and soothed his head like a child.

"Doc, he's in so much pain right now. How long is he going to have to wait before you give him medication?" Jack said seriously but Dr. Winters shook his head and looked at Danny.

"I'm sorry, Agent Taylor. I know that you're in pain right now but I need you to hold on for a little while. If the tests show that you have no internal bleeding, I'll give you medication then." Dr. Winters said compassionately and then turned to Jack. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to step out now." He said kindly but concerned but again Danny looked at Jack fearfully and squeezed his hand.

"What did I tell you, Danny? You need to relax or I'm going to tell the doc here to make you sleep." Jack said sternly and caused Danny to look at him angrily and weakly, but angrily, scratch Jack's hand. "Stop scratching me. Now, what are you scared of? Nobody's going to hurt you." Jack said sternly but concerned and Danny weakly pointed to the doctor's lab coat which held several pens and a notepad.

"Would you like to try to write, Agent Taylor?" Dr. Winters said kindly and Danny blinked. "Okay. Here's the pen and I'll hold the notepad for you. Go ahead." Dr. Winters said kindly and Danny began writing slowly and sloppily.

"Martin?" Danny wrote on the paper as his hand shook uncontrollably.

"Who's Martin?" Dr. Winters asked concerned.

"That's Agent Fitzgerald." Jack said concerned.

"Oh, right. Forgive me." Dr. Winters said kindly and then turned to Danny. "Well, young man, Agent Fitzgerald is still unconscious but we expect him to make a complete recovery. "Dr. Winters said kindly and with a warm smile, causing him and Jack to chuckle amused when Danny huffed angrily and wrote 'liar' on the paper as he looked at them angrily and fresh tears escaped his eyes. "I'm not lying, Agent Taylor. He's right next door." Dr. Winters said kindly and then looked at his nurse.

"Want to see him. Don't believe you." Danny wrote as he looked at them untrustingly.

"Excuse me. Agent Taylor, they're not lying to you. My name is Nurse Vicky and I've been taking care of you and your friend since you came here. Your friend is resting comfortably next door, I promise." Nurse Vicky said very soothingly as she soothed Danny's head, causing Danny to shake out of relief as tears flowed freely his face. "Shhh. It's okay, sweetie. Agent Fitzgerald's okay. But I'm sure that he wouldn't want to see you like this. So, can you please calm down and let us help you?" She said very soothingly as she continued soothing Danny's head like a child.

"Take out. Can't breathe." Danny wrote of the horrid tube and Nurse Vicky softly soothed his face with a warm washcloth.

"Shhh. I know that you the tube is uncomfortable, sweetheart, but it's helping you breathe even though you think you can't. Listen, sweetie, if you want it out, you have to stay calm and let us help you, okay. All we want is to make you feel better and get you moved sooner. But that's not going to happen if you keep panicking. All that does is make you hurt yourself further, which means a longer stay here. If you stay calm and let us help you, the sooner Dr. Winters can help your pain go away and maybe, just maybe, he can remove the tube. So, what do you say, honey? Will you remain calm and not panic? Hmm?" Nurse Vicky said very soothingly.

"You stay with me?" Danny wrote as he shook and tears streamed down his face.

"I'm sorry, sweetie…" Nurse Vicky tried but couldn't continue when Dr. Winters cut her off and looked at Danny as he smiled.

"Agent Taylor, if I allow Nurse Vicky to stay with you while we run the tests, will you calm down and let us help you? Will you remain calm and not panic?" Dr. Wes said kindly as he smiled and Danny indicated yes with his index finger. "Very well, Agent Taylor. I'll make sure that she's allowed to remain by your side throughout your tests but you have to keep calm. Otherwise, I'll have to make her leave and give you something to sleep. Is that understood?" Dr. Winters said a bit sternly but caringly.

"Okay." Danny wrote as he sniffled very emotionally. "See family and friends?" Danny questioned with an emotional look on his face that made him look like a little kid.

"As I said before, if the tests show that you are improving and aren't in immediate danger, and if you keep calm, I'll allow you to have one visitor at a time but only for a few minutes. However, if I see that you become too anxious, I'll suspend all visits until further notice. For now, however, your friend has to leave the room." Dr. Winters said a bit seriously but kindly but Danny squeezed Jack's hand and became fearful.

"Shhh. Calm down, sweetie. You won't be alone, okay. I'll be right here with you. Just say goodbye to your friend so that he can go tell your other friends how you and Agent Fitzgerald are doing. You don't want them to worry more, right? I know that you don't want that. So, stay calm and let your friend go talk to the others." Nurse Vicky said caringly and fresh tears escaped Danny's eyes as he released his grip on Jack's hand.

"Just do what they tell you, Danny-boy. We'll be out there waiting to see you again, okay. I promise." Jack said caringly as he softly ruffled Danny's head and gently squeezed his hand. "All right. Well, I'm going to go back outside and leave you with this hottie, Nurse Vicky, so that she can take _**very **_good care of you and make you feel better in no time." Jack said with an evilly amused smile and Dr. Winters couldn't help but quietly chuckle very amused when Danny and Nurse Vicky's faces reddened furiously and Danny's eyes crinkled in mirth.

"Well, that certainly calmed him down." Dr. Winters quietly chuckled amused and Danny's eyes crinkled in mirth again.

"I thought so, lover boy. Look, I have to go now, Danny-boy, but try not to give nurse hottie here too much trouble, okay." Jack quipped amused and then both he and Dr. Winter quietly chuckled again when Nurse Vicky covered her face and reddened furiously. "All right. I better go. I leave you in _**very**_ capable hands." He said amused and then left the room with Dr. Winters.

"Doc, how is Martin really doing?" Jack whispered very quietly as they stood in front of Martin's room.

"I didn't lie before to Agent Taylor. Agent Fitzgerald is still unconscious but he is slowly showing a bit of improvement now. I have to prepare for Agent Taylor but I'm going to ask Dr. London to come speak with you. In the meantime, I'm going to need you to wait outside." Dr. Winters said kindly as he patted Jack's shoulder and Jack went back to the waiting room.

"Jack, what happened? How's Danny?" Vivian said fearfully as she shook and tears stained her face, causing Jack to smile and embrace her carefully tight.

"Calm down, Viv. Danny's going to be okay. He just got spooked but we finally managed to calm him down when we told him that Martin was okay and that he was going to be in good hand with that hottie, Nurse Vicky. You should've seen him. The look on his face was priceless. Anyway, Dr. Winters kicked me out so that he could start running tests on Danny. He also said that he was going to ask Dr. London to come talk to us about Martin." Jack said with a small smile, causing everyone to laugh crying in relief.

"What about Martin, Jack?" Agent Chuck said concerned.

"Martin's still unconscious but they say that his health is improving and he's expected to recover. But we still have to wait for Dr. London." Jack said caringly as he smiled.

"But how can you be sure? Dr. London already said that Martin needed more blood." Sam said frustrated out of concern.

"Excuse me." Dr. London said kindly as he exited the ICU holding a chart. "Did I hear my name?" He said kindly and with a warm smile.

"Yes, Dr. London. How's my agent doing? I want the truth so don't' sugarcoat anything." Jack said somewhat defensively but respectfully.

"Calm down, Agent Malone. Agent Fitzgerald is critical at the moment but stable. He has a fever that we're keeping an eye on right now and he's also going to need more blood." Dr. London said gently.

"Is he going to wake up? What about his other injuries?" Jeff said concerned.

"Well…" Dr. London said gently and then read through Martin's chart. "Agent Fitzgerald suffered serious injuries, some which are infected right now. He's also going to need more blood. However, the severe internal bleeding, as well as the carotid bleeding both have been controlled." Dr. London explained gently.

"What about his lungs?" Viv said very concerned.

"We had to put in a chest tube and hooked him up to the ventilator. Now, I've ordered a blood gas and although it shows that he's not getting enough oxygen yet, the oxygen in his blood has gotten better." Dr. London explained gently.

"Is he going to wake up?" Jack asked seriously.

"Look, I know that things seem grim right now but I believe that Agent Fitzgerald will regain consciousness. You have to be very patient. Once he wakes up, I'll have to run some tests to make sure that he hasn't suffered any brain damage or other injuries that I'm not aware of. Now, I do have to ask. What happened to Agents Fitzgerald and Taylor? Agent Fitzgerald has severe bruising and inflammation, as well as burn marks all over his body. He's also got patches of missing hair that look as if they were torn out of his head. Now, Dr. Winters and I are working closely on both agents and he says that Agent Taylor has similar injuries." Dr. London said very concerned, causing Rafi to suddenly shriek furiously.

"Son of a bitch!" Rafi shrieked violently furious.

"Excuse me?" Dr. London said seriously and somewhat angrily.

"Rafi, calm down." Jack said harshly but with compassionate undertones. "He's not talking about you, Dr. London. Martin and Danny went hiking in the woods but apparently they got caught in the wraths of four sociopaths that tortured them and tried to kill them. But we don't know exactly what happened and we won't know until we talk to them." Jack said with a heavy sigh.

"That certainly explains their injuries. Listen, when they are stable and out of danger, Dr. Winters and I will allow you to see Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald. But I'm going to tell you right now, that given everything that's happened, their recovery is going to be very difficult. I'm going to inform Dr. Winters about what happened. I'm sure that he, like myself, is going to recommend psychiatric counseling starting the moment they get out of the ICU and into a regular room. For now, though, I'm going to continue monitoring Agent Fitzgerald very closely." Dr. London explained as gently as possible.

"What about the blood? When's Martin going to get it?" Sam said concerned.

"I'm going to need someone to sign a consent form and I'll have the nurse set everything up." Dr. London said gently but kindly.

"I can sign them. I'm his emergency contact." Jack said quickly as he grabbed Martin's chart and signed the consent forms.

"Very well. I'm going to call the blood bank to see if we have a match for Agent Fitzgerald's blood type. Otherwise…" Dr. London explained kindly but couldn't continue when the door to the ICU opened up.

"Excuse me, Dr. London. May I see you a moment?" A young nurse said concerned and he went inside with her, causing everyone to worry.

"What's going on?" Jack said seriously and somewhat angrily but fear was clearly evident in his voice, when Dr. London returned to the waiting room five minutes later.

"Calm down. Look, the nurse called me because Agent Fitzgerald has a high fever. You have to understand that his body is trying to fight off the infection he has, caused by his injuries. He's already being given powerful antibiotics and I just put a cooling system on him." Dr. London explained gently.

"What the hell is a cooling system?" Jeff said gruffly out of fear.

"A cooling system is basically a big, cold ice pack that goes on his body and also a cap that goes on his head. What that does is cut the fever and allows his body to cool down to his regular body temperature. Once that happens, it'll be removed. Look, I know that you're very upset but you should calm down. As I said before, I believe that Agent Fitzgerald is going to regain consciousness and make a full recovery. In the meantime, you should go home, get cleaned up, eat something, sleep for a while and then you can come back." Dr. London said kindly but the team shook their heads.

"Jack, the doc is right. Why don't you guys go home, get some rest and eat something? We'll stay here with Rafi and we won't let him go anywhere and we'll also keep an eye in our boys. "Agent Chuck tried but they shook their heads again. "Come on, Jack" He said concerned.

"I'm not leaving, chuck. Danny's in there scared out of his mind and he'll only come down with me and we can't leave Martin alone either." Jack said somewhat angrily.

"Excuse me. I'll be right back." Dr. London said kindly and then went inside, causing him to return several minutes later with Dr. Winters.

My colleague her tell me that you don't want to go home for a while. Dr. Winters said kindly.

"I told them that I'd stay with some of the others but he says that Danny's too scared." "Agent chuck said concerned and Dr. Winters suddenly chuckled softly.

"Please follow me." Dr. Winters softly chuckle amused and then led Agent chuck inside to Danny's room, causing him to shake a bit and pale when he saw Danny's body invaded by tubes and wires everywhere. "Calm down. He's going to be okay. Now, tell him what you told me. Talk to him. He can understand you." Dr.  
Winters said kindly and Agent Chuck grabbed a hold of Danny's hand and tears escaped his eyes when Danny weakly squeezed his hand.

"Hey, Kiddo, you're awake." Agent Chuck said caringly, causing him to smile more when Danny's eye crinkled in mirth and he wagged his eyebrows as he looked towards Nurse Vicky and then back at him.

"Now does Agent Taylor look like he's afraid?" Dr. Winters said with a smile but Danny's eyes immediately furrowed in confusion as he released Agent Chuck's hand and pointed to Dr. Winters' lab coat. "Calm down, Agent Taylor. Don't exert yourself." He said kindly as he gave Danny a pen and pad to write on.

"What going on, Chuck Danny wrote on the note pad as he looked at Agent Chuck confused and somewhat fearful.

"Go ahead." Dr. Winters said kindly when he saw the apprehensive look on Agent Chuck's face.

"Well, kiddo, it's nothing bad. Look, it's just that Jack, Sam, Viv and Jeff have been here for two days with you and Martin. We've all been here but unlike your guys, some of us have rested, eaten, and freshened up. Now, I told your team to go home and get freshened up and maybe rest a little; that I'd stay here with Rafi and some of the other agents and NYPD and we'll look out for you and Martin. But they said that they're not going to leave you alone, especially when you're really upset." Agent Chuck explained as gently as possible but fresh tears escaped Danny's eyes.

"No, no, no. I'm sorry, kiddo. Please calm down and don't cry." Agent Chuck said a bit fearfully as he snagged Danny's wavering hand and Danny squeezed his hand.

"Let him stay too. But want to talk to Jack." Danny wrote on the note pad as fresh tears escaped his eyes.

"I understand, Agent Taylor, but if I'm going to do that you have to calm down. Your vitals are a bit unstable. I'm sure they're like that because you're emotional right now. But calm down. Otherwise, I can't allow anyone else in here." Dr. Winters said a bit sternly but compassionately and Danny eventually calmed down. "All right, Agent Taylor. I'll be right back with Agent Malone." He said kindly and then left and returned with Jack.

"What's wrong, Danny-boy? Did you lose control again? We had a deal, remember?" Jack said somewhat sternly out of fear as he stood beside Danny, causing Danny to look at him like an angry child as fresh tears escaped his and he sniffled emotionally.

"Team go home. Rest. Food. Chuck, stay here until come back and not tired anymore." Danny wrote on the note pad as he silently cried emotionally and sniffled, causing Jack to sigh very heavily and look at Agent Chuck angrily.

"What did you tell him, you little prick?" Jack said gruffly, causing Danny to weakly grab his arm.

"Leave Chuck alone. He right. Team too tired—no sleep, eat or bath. Go home before set off the smoke sprinklers. Stink." Danny wrote as he looked at Jack angrily but Jack couldn't help but laugh at the look on Danny's face and his note.

"I don't stink, you little prick." Jack quietly chuckled amused and Danny's eye crinkled in mirth. "Besides, I told you that I wasn't going to leave you alone and I'm not going to, Danny-boy." Jack said caringly and fresh tears escaped Danny's eyes as he wrote on the note pad again.

"Please go home. Team can't help me if get sick. Not alone. Chuck stay here. If don't go home and rest, eat, take bath, I quit job." Danny wrote as he looked at Jack hurt and tears stained every crevice of his face.

"Calm down. I'm not trying to upset you but I'm not going home and neither are the others. We're not going to leave you and Martin here alone. It's not going to happen." Jack said sternly but caringly.

"Damn it. Not alone, you asshole. Chuck and hottie Nurse Vicky take care me and Martin. Go home or I quit job, you jackass." Danny silently cried angrily as his vitals became unstable again and he grimaced in pain.

"All right, Danny. Calm down right now. We'll go home but only for a little while and then we'll come back, I promise. But you have to calm your ass down right now." Jack said sternly but Danny weakly shook his head, causing Nurse Vicky to softly soothe his face.

"Shhh. Calm down, sweetie. Remember what Dr. Winters told you. If you can't calm down, he's going to have to put you in a very deep sleep until you're completely out of danger. He doesn't want to do that and I don't want you to go through that either. Remember, Dr. Winters promised that I could stay with you and take care of you but that can't happen if you keep losing control. Please, let me help you, sweetie. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I just want to help make you feel better so that you can get out of here sooner." Nurse Vicky said very soothingly as she softly soothed his face and head, causing Danny to calm down a bit but continue crying.

"Make team go home, rest, eat, both. Team tired. Can't help me if get sick. Don't want them get hurt." Danny wrote as tears flowed freely down his face.

"Agent Malone, please listen to him. Go home and get freshened up. Then, later on when you're rested, you can come back. He's very upset because he knows how long you've been here and he doesn't want you or the other members of your team to gets sick. Please. If there's any change in his or Agent Fitzgerald's condition, I'll let you know right away. But please don't upset him anymore." Nurse Vicky said as respectfully as possible as she continued softly soothing Danny's head and face.

"Please, Jack. Home. Team home. Too tired. No want get sick." Danny pled writing as he grabbed Jack's hand, causing Jack's heart to break.

"All right, Son. We'll go home to get cleaned up and then we'll come back. But you have to stay calm while we're gone. Do you promise that you're not going to lose control anymore?" Jack said compassionately and Danny weakly, but tightly, gripped his hand and blinked his eyes. "Okay. Then Chuck and the others will stay with Rafi and keep an eye on you and Martin." He said kindly.

"Where Rafi?" Danny wrote and looked at Jack as his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Rafi's outside in the waiting room, Danny." Jack said kindly as he smiled softly.

"He can't come in now because we're going to run the tests now. But afterwards, if your health improves, I'll allow you to have visitors again. In the meantime, say goodbye to your friends." Dr. Winters said kindly.

"Bye." Danny wrote sadly as fresh tears escaped his eyes, causing Dr. Winters, Jack and Agent Chuck to go back to the waiting room. "Well, you read what Agent Taylor wrote. He wants you and your team to go home." He said kindly.

"What?" Jeff, Sam and Viv clamored angrily.

"Calm down. Danny wants us to go home and rest because we can't help if we get sick. He knows that we've been here since they got here. When I told him no, he freaked out. So, I promised him that Chuck and the others would stay here while we got freshened up." Jack said somewhat sternly but caringly.

"I don't care what you told him, Jack. I want to see my brother." Rafi said angrily.

"Rafi, cool off." Jack said harshly as he glared at Rafi. "Doc, there's one thing that I am concerned about." He said seriously concerned and everyone quieted down.

"What concerns you about Agent Taylor?" Dr. Winters said kindly.

"I'm worried about his writing. Danny's writing isn't coherent. He seems to be missing words and he can barely hold the pen in his hand." Jack said seriously concerned.

"Look, you have to give it time. The injuries that Agent Taylor received could've cost him his life. I'm surprised that he's even awake, much less communicating with us. After everything that's happened, there's no reason why Agent Taylor is alive right now. My colleagues and I were certain that he wasn't going to make it through the night. That being said, I know that you're concerned about Agent Taylor's cognitive and motor skills but you have to give it time. For the time being, however, after I run the tests I'm going to have a neurologist come down to see Agent Taylor. But all any of us can do now is wait and see what happens." Dr. Winters said kindly.

"Jack, you should go home already. If there's any change in our boys' conditions, I'll call you right away." Agent Chuck said compassionately.

"They can leave if they want, but I'm not going anywhere until I know that Martin's going to be okay." Sam said calmly but angrily, out of fear.

"Sam, please. You heard what Dr. London said, okay. Martin needs to have another transfusion but he's expected to make a full recovery. Now, please go home and get some rest. Danny's in there and keeps losing control because he doesn't want you guys to get sick. I swear on my life that I won't leave the boys here alone and that if there's any change on their condition, I'll be the first on to call you." Agent Chuck said caringly but Sam shook her head.

At that moment, the elevator opened. It was Captain Mike Randall with several officers.

"Agent Malone." Captain Randall said kindly as he shook Jack's hand.

"Doctor, these are men who are going to donate the blood that Martin needs." Jack said with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Well, that's good news. I'm going to have a nurse come to escort you downstairs. Then, we'll transfuse Agent Fitzgerald. Excuse me a moment." Dr. Winters said kindly and then left and returned several minutes later with Dr. London.

"Hello, I'm Dr. London. A nurse will be here in a few minutes to lead you downstairs." Dr. London said kindly to Captain Randall and the other officers, causing him to suddenly look at the team's exhausted face. "Agent Malone, I thought I heard you telling your agent that you were all going to go home and rest?" He said a bit seriously but kindly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Sam said through gritted teeth as tears escaped her eyes and she shook, causing Jack to take a gentle hold of her.

"Listen, I know that you're scared but Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald are going to be fine. So, please go home and rest, even if it's only for an hour. I promise you that I'll keep you updated on their conditions." Dr. London said compassionately.

After fifteen minutes of trying, Dr. London and Dr. Winters finally convinced the team to go home and rest. Once the team left, a nurse came and led Captain Randall and the other officers to have their blood drawn. After testing the blood, Martin was transfused.

Three hours had passed since Martin was given the transfusion. Agent Chuck and the other agents were guarding Rafi in the ICU waiting room when what happened next caused their hearts to drop to the floor.

All of a sudden, the monitors in Martin's room began shrilling violently, causing Dr. London and a flurry of nurses to run into the room with a crash cart.

* * *

Is this the end for Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald? Stay tuned to find out in the next chapter of 'Lost in the Woods'.


	11. Chapter 11

'Lost in the Woods'

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. I also have no medical knowledge, so don't blame me if something medical is inaccurate. This is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy.

Chapter 11

After fifteen minutes of trying, Dr. London and Dr. Winters finally convinced the team to go home and rest. Once the team left, a nurse came and led Captain Randall and the other officers to have their blood drawn. After testing the blood, Martin was transfused.

Three hours had passed since Martin was given the transfusion. Agent Chuck and the other agents were guarding Rafi in the ICU waiting room when what happened next caused their hearts to drop to the floor.

All of a sudden, the monitors in Martin's room began shrilling violently, causing Dr. London and a flurry of nurses to run into the room with a crash cart.

When Agent Chuck and the others heard the commotion of the monitors, they began looking through the windows and saw the flurry of nurses and doctors running into one of the rooms with all kinds of machines. That's when Agent Chuck's heart sank to the floor. He'd gone inside to see Danny and he knew all too well that they were going into Martin's room.

"Oh, Christ! That's Martin's—Agent Fitzgerald's—room!" Agent Chuck said horrified and the officers and agents gasped and looked at one another horrified as they began knocking on the doors but no one would open them.

They continued looking through the small windows on the ICU doors for half an hour and were anxious to find out any information on Martin's condition. After all the waiting, Dr. Winters and Dr. London exited the ICU and went out to the waiting room, causing them to quiet everyone down when they were bombarded with questions.

"Ladies and gentleman, I know that this is a very trying time for all of you. But you have to calm down and let us do our job." Dr. London said seriously but compassionately.

"What the hell is going on? We know that you were in Agent Fitzgerald's room." Agent Chuck said seriously and somewhat angrily out of fear.

"If you'll calm down and compose yourselves, we'll tell you what is happening. Otherwise, we will have to ask security to escort everyone downstairs." Dr. Winters said sternly but with compassionate undertones.

As soon as everyone quieted down, Agent Chuck and the others were updated on Martin's condition. No one could believe what Drs. Winters and London had told them. They sat in the waiting room with their heads in their hands and tears stained every crevice of their weary faces. Now, it was time for Agent Chuck to make a call that he didn't want to make.

Agent Chuck cried as he dialed Jack's number. He couldn't believe what was happening. He couldn't believe what Dr. London and Dr. Winters had told him and the others.

"Malone." Jack said seriously and fearfully when his phone rang.

"Jack, it's Chuck. Listen, you and your guys have to get down here right away, as soon as you can." Agent Chuck cried softly but shaken.

"What the hell happened? Why are you crying like that?" Jack said harshly out of fear.

"I'm sorry, Jack, but I can't tell you that over the phone. Just get your ass over here with your team as soon as you can." Agent Chuck cried shaken.

"Fine, damn it. We'll be there soon." Jack said harshly out of fear and then ended the call, causing him and the rest of the team to arrive at the hospital twenty minutes later as a cold, raw fear swept through their hearts.

As soon as the team arrived in that ICU waiting room, they immediately expected the worst. The waiting room was filled to capacity with agents and police officers and they were all crying.

"What the hell happened, Chuck? What's going on? Is Martin…" Jack said harshly and fearfully but couldn't continue when Agent Chuck quickly cut him off.

"Martin's not dead, Jack. He scared the shit out of everyone but he's awake now, Jack. He's awake. He's going to be okay." Agent Chuck laughed crying as he tightly embraced Jack.

As soon as the team heard those words, they cried shaken out of fear and relief. They embraced each other crying and couldn't stop their bodies from shaking uncontrollably. The team couldn't believe it. Although they'd held out hope, they had felt a great dread in their hearts at the thought of losing Danny and Martin. Although the doctor hadn't talked to the team about Martin's actual condition, they felt in their hearts that Danny and Martin were going to be okay.

"You asshole, you scared the shit out of me." Jack cried crossly but kindly as he wiped away his tears and then laughed crying again.

"What's going to happen with that deranged lunatic now, Jack?" Agent Chuck said sniffling as he tried to regain his composure.

"Don't about Carr. I'll handle that animal. All that matters now is making sure that Danny and Martin make a full recovery. It's not going to be easy for them. We have to interview them and they have to tell us what happened to them out there. But that's not going to happen until they can talk again." Jack said with an exhausted sigh and then looked towards Danny's brother, Rafi. "Excuse me a moment." He said kindly and then walked up to Rafi.

"Rafi, now that Danny and Martin are going to be okay, it's almost time to take you back to the prison." Jack said compassionately.

"I want to see Danny first, Jack." Rafi said somewhat seriously and Jack nodded as he squeezed Rafi's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm going to talk to Dr. Winters about letting you see Danny before we take you back." Jack said kindly and then grinned evilly as he began whispering inaudibly to Rafi, causing Rafi to suddenly smile sadistically as he nodded. "Okay. I'm going to ask to speak with Dr. Winters." Jack said with a smile and then walked to the door where he waved to a nurse inside the ICU and she came out to the waiting room.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you can't come in yet." The nurse said kindly.

"I want to talk to Dr. Winters and Dr. London. Now." Jack said seriously.

"Yes, Sir. I'll let them know. Excuse me." The nurse said kindly and then returned inside, causing Dr. Winters and Dr. London to enter the waiting room fifteen minutes later and kindly greeted Jack and the rest of the team.

"Agent Malone. We know that you're concerned about Agent Fitzgerald but, thankfully, he has regained consciousness once again." Dr. London said kindly.

"What are his chances for survival and does he have any type permanent damage?" Jack said gruffly out of concern.

"First of all, calm your attitude, okay. I know that you've been under a lot of stress but just as I've treated you and everyone else with respect, I expect the same in return." Dr. London said seriously and sternly but with compassionate undertones, causing Jack to sigh in frustration but then try to calm down. "Now that being said, we don't know yet if there's any permanent damage with Agent Fitzgerald. We've got a lot of tests to run on both Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald and we won't know anything for certain until all of the results are back. Are they going to survive? All I can tell you is that they have a fighting chance now that they're conscious again." Dr. London said seriously but compassionately.

"When can we see them?" Viv said concerned and Jeff took a hold of her shaking hand.

"Agent Taylor can have one visitor at a time but no more than three minutes. Agent Fitzgerald, on the other hand, isn't allowed any visitors at the moment. Visiting won't be allowed until we're certain that he's not in immediate danger. Is there anything else that we can do for you before we head back inside?" Dr. Winters said compassionately.

"Yeah, there is. Now that they're doing better, we have to escort Danny's brother back to the prison. But before doing so, I think it's only fair that he sees his brother once more." Jack said seriously but respectfully.

"I understand, Agent Malone. First I'm going to prepare Agent Taylor for his brother's visit and then I'll come back to get you." Dr. Winters said kindly.

"Wait a minute. I thought you said that Danny was okay now. Why do you have to prepare him for Rafi's visit?" Jeff said seriously concerned.

"You misunderstood me. I said that Agent Taylor was more stable and that's how I want to keep him. Any kind of visit can upset him and make him unstable again. That's why I have to make sure that he's able to have visitors. The last thing we need is for Agent Taylor to become overwhelmed and anxious. If that happens, he can panic and try to remove the medical equipment that we have on him and then we'll have no choice but to keep sedated until if and when he's moved to another room. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to our patients. Excuse me." Dr. Winters said kindly and then returned inside with Dr. London.

_Back in Danny's Room…_

Danny was aware of the commotion that had occurred in Martin's room and he lay there in bed, unable to move, as he silently cried distraught. What had happened? Had his best friend died? If Martin died, he'd never forgive himself. He should've taken better care of his best friend out there in those woods and he didn't. He'd wallowed in his own fear and pain. How could he be so selfish, Danny thought.

All of a sudden, Nurse Vicky entered his room once again. She had come in because Danny's vitals had become erratic. However, after seeing the tears that covered every crevice of Danny's face, she understood all too well why his vitals were erratic. She sighed softly as she gently soothed away his tears and softly soothed his head and face like a child.

"Shhh. Why are you crying like that, sweetie? Hmm? Are you scared about all the noise going on next door?" Nurse Vicky asked soothingly and Danny blinked his eyes as fresh tears escaped his eyes. "You don't have to be afraid, honey. Your friend is alive. You heard that commotion because your friend woke up. But he was so confused and frightened about where he was that he began panicking. Now, the doctors were able to calm him down and he's more stable now, okay." Nurse Vicky explained compassionately and Danny began shaking out of fear and as he cried silently and his face grimaced. "Shhh. Calm down, sweetie. It's okay. I know that things have been very bad for you and your friend but the important thing now is that we keep you safe and help you recover. But if that's going to happen, you're going to have to calm down, okay. So, can you please do that? Hmm?" She said soothingly but Danny blinked twice and turned his eyes toward Martin's room.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I know that you want to see your friend but you can't do that yet, okay. Once you're both out of danger, you'll be moved to a different room and you'll be able to see each other then. But in the meantime, I'll keep giving you updates on him, okay." Nurse Vicky said compassionately and he blinked twice and continued crying silently.

"Nurse, what's going on in here? Why are his vitals unstable?" Dr. Winters said seriously as he walked into the room.

"He's frightened because of the noise in his friend's room next door." Nurse Vicky said respectfully and then looked at Danny sympathetically as she gently wiped away his tears again.

"Don't worry, Agent Taylor. Your friend is doing well. He was frightened at first because he was confused but we managed to calm him down. Now, you still can't see him yet but you can see someone else right now." Dr. Winters said kindly as he smiled and Danny looked at him confused. "Well, your brother is outside in the waiting room with all of the agents and officers…" He said kindly but couldn't continue when Danny looked at him again. "Well, don't you know? The waiting room is completely filled to capacity with your agent friends and police officers alike. They've been very worried about you and haven't left. They've refused to leave the hospital until they are certain that you and Agent Fitzgerald are out of danger. Now, as I was saying before, Agent Malone is out there with a young man, your brother. He has to be taken back to the prison. But before doing so, he wants to see you, okay. Now, I'm going to allow that to happen but I don't want you to lose control. Is that understood? I want you to remain calm when you see him. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get him." He said with a kindly and then left, causing him to return several minutes later with Rafi and Jack.

"Danny?" Rafi cried softly as he stood beside Danny and held his hand in a carefully tight grip, causing Danny to grip Rafi's hand weakly but tightly as he began shaking a bit and crying silently.

"Sweetie, calm down. I know that you're happy that your brother's here with you now. But you heard what Dr. Winters said. If you can't remain calm down, then I'm going to have to make him leave, okay. I know that you don't want that to happen and I don't want to do that either. So, please do your best to calm down." Nurse Vicky said a bit sternly but compassionately and Danny blinked at her once and tried to calm down.

"Can I talk to him alone, please?" Rafi said seriously but respectfully and Dr. Winters nodded as he, Nurse Vicky and Jack left the room, causing Danny to hold Rafi's hand a bit tighter. "How are you feeling, kiddo?" He softly cried soothingly as he soothed Danny's head like a child but Danny weakly shook his head as fresh tears escaped his eyes. "I know how bad you're hurting right now but I know that you're strong. You can't give up now, little brother. You have to fight to get out of this hospital. I know that it's going to hard and painful but you've been through hell before and you've come through okay. Remember how bad papi used to beat us? You made it through that and instead of becoming just like him or a screw up like me, you made something of your life. So, I know that you're not going to let this asshole stop you now, are you?" Rafi softly cried soothingly as he soothed and kissed Danny's head, causing Danny to look toward the pen and notepad that Nurse Vicky had left on the tray next to his bed. "You want to write?" He said caringly and Danny blinked once. "Yes?" He said and Danny nodded once again so Rafi grabbed the pen and note pad and put the pen in Danny's hand as he held the notepad.

Danny began trying to write but he could barely hold the pen up and he wrote sloppily. As he saw Danny struggling, Rafi felt so much rage inside for what those sociopaths had done to Danny and Martin. But he was going to make sure that justice was served. All of a sudden Danny stopped writing and Rafi looked at the notepad. As Rafi read the words, Rafi couldn't stop the tears that escaped his eyes.

"Hurt…much." Danny wrote as he silently cried pained and began shaking a bit again so Rafi carefully held his hand tightly and repeatedly soothed and kissed Danny's head as he cried softly.

"Shhh. I know how bad you're hurting, Danny, but you can't give up now. There are too many people out there who need your help. And I know that I can't be here for you now because I have to go back but Jack and the rest of those guys out there are going to take care of you until I get out. So, you can't give up no matter how much pain you're in." Rafi cried as he soothed and kissed Danny again and Danny continued shaking. "Shhh. Please calm down and stop shaking like that or they're going to kick me out." He said caringly but Danny weakly shook his head and wrote on the notepad.

"Vicky get. Head hurt. Something right not." Danny wrote as his hand shook violently and his face grimaced in agony.

"Nurse! Nurse!" Rafi yelled fearfully and loudly and Nurse Vicky immediately ran into the room.

"What's going on?" Nurse Vicky said concerned.

"He asked for you. He said something's not right that his head hurts. Look at him." Rafi said fearfully and she read the note, causing Nurse Vicky to check the monitors

"What's going on here?" Dr. Winters said sternly and Nurse Vicky showed him Danny's note and he immediately began preparing a syringe. "Agent Taylor, can you hear me?" He said seriously concerned and Danny blinked as his face grimaced in agony and he tried moving but Nurse Vicky quickly restrained his arms. "Agent Taylor, I know that you're in pain but I'm going to give you something right now that's going to help you, okay. It's also going to make you sleep a little but you'll be okay. Here we go." Dr. Winters said compassionately as he injected a medication into Danny's IV and complete darkness immediately took over.

"What happened to him?" Rafi cried fearfully as he shook and tightly held Danny's hand.

"Try to calm down, Son. Look, we ran a lot of tests on Agent Taylor. One of the tests that we did was a scan and it showed that he has several fractures on his skull. Thankfully, he's not bleeding in his brain but he is going to be suffering severe headaches for several months, possibly longer." Dr. Winters explained gently but compassionately.

"What the hell did they do to him?" Rafi cried angrily and very emotionally.

"Unfortunately, we won't know that until they can speak again. For the moment, all we can do is make Agent Taylor and his friend as comfortable as possible. Now, I'm sorry, but your time is up. Agent Taylor needs his rest and Agent Malone is waiting to take you back to the prison." Dr. Winters said compassionately and Rafi nodded crying.

"I have to go, little brother, but Jack is going to take care of you for me until I can see you again. But I swear on my life that that animal is going to pay for what he did to you." Rafi cried caringly as he soothed and kissed Danny's head.

"Come on." Dr. Winters said kindly as he slowly led Rafi away. "Listen, I don't know why you're in prison. But I do know some people who owe me some favors. So, if you behave in prison, I'm going to talk to them about letting you see your little brother again when we remove the breathing tube." Dr. Winters said compassionately.

"You can't do that." Rafi cried confused.

"Son, you'd be surprised at how many important people you meet when you work in my field. You just behave in the prison and I'll make sure that you're allowed to see your brother again very soon. But don't do anything that'll get you in trouble." Dr. Winters said with a kind smile as he walked into the ICU waiting room.

"Why are you crying like that, Rafi?" Sam said very concerned.

"He's just a bit upset because Agent Taylor frightened him. He suffered a severe headache and it caused his vitals to become unstable. However, as I was explaining to this young man, the scan that we did on Agent Taylor, shows that he has several fractures on his skull. Thankfully, he's not bleeding into his brain but because of the severity of his injuries, he's going to be suffering severe headaches for as long as several months or longer." Dr. Winters said compassionately as he squeezed Rafi's shoulder.

"What about the breathing tube? When are you going to take it out?" Jack said seriously.

"I'm sorry, Agent Malone, but the blood work shows that he's still not getting enough oxygen in his blood. It has improved somewhat, however. So, we're hoping that soon we'll be able to remove the tube." Dr. Winters said kindly and then squeezed Rafi's shoulder again as he smiled softly.

"What about Martin? How is he? Can we see him?" Samantha said concerned.

"Well, Agent Fitzgerald has regained consciousness. Dr. London is with him now and he's getting ready to take him downstairs for some tests." Dr. Winters said kindly.

"I want to see him." Jack said seriously but his voice shook.

"I'll tell you what. Come with me but you can only stay for a minute. Afterwards, he'll be taken downstairs. Once he returns, if he's not in immediate danger, we'll allow him to have visitors. But you'll be in there no more than three minutes. Is that understood?" Dr. Winters said a bit seriously and everyone nodded. "Very well. Come with me, Agent Malone." He said kindly and then led Jack to Martin's room, causing Jack to pale a bit when he saw how small and fragile Martin looked—he looked like a teenager rather than FBI agent.

"What is he doing in here? We're taking him downstairs." Dr. London said somewhat seriously.

"He insisted on seeing Agent Fitzgerald first. So, how is he?" Dr. Winters said respectfully as he looked at Martin's chart.

"Well, he's stable for the moment. We won't have anything concrete until we get the results. But it looks like he's going to recover." Dr. London said a bit seriously but kindly and Jack couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes as he shook and held Martin's hand carefully tight between both his own.

"Martin?" Jack softly cried smiling as he looked at Martin's saddened blue eyes that were now stained with tears. "Can you hear me, Martin?" He softly cried smiling as he tried to regain his composure, causing Jack to softly laugh crying when Martin weakly squeezed his hand as fresh tears escaped his eyes. "It's great to have you both back, Martin. Everything is going to be okay. We're a family and we're going to take care of you and Danny. I promise. Welcome home, Son. Welcome home to your family." Jack cried smiling and Martin silently cried shaking as he held Jack's hand tighter.

Now that Danny and Martin were conscious once again and had a greater chance for survival, the important thing was to make sure that Danny and Martin had justice and that Bobby 'the snake' Carr paid dearly for the hell that he and his men had put Danny and Martin through. Carr was going to know what real pain was and the death that he'd long for would never find him until it came naturally. No. Carr would suffer like he'd never suffered his entire life for what he put Danny and Martin through—for put his sons through. He was going to learn that whoever hurt his family, always lived to regret it.


	12. Chapter 12

'Lost in the Woods'

**Author's Note:** Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. I also have no medical knowledge, so don't blame me if something medical is inaccurate. I also don't know how the legal system works so if anything is wrong, don't blame me. This is for entertainment purposes only. Mild bad language, maybe mild violence.

Chapter 12

"I'll tell you what. Come with me but you can only stay for a minute. Afterwards, he'll be taken downstairs. Once he returns, if he's not in immediate danger, we'll allow him to have visitors. But you'll be in there no more than three minutes. Is that understood?" Dr. Winters said a bit seriously and everyone nodded. "Very well. Come with me, Agent Malone." He said kindly and then led Jack to Martin's room, causing Jack to pale a bit when he saw how small and fragile Martin looked—he looked like a teenager rather than an FBI agent.

"What is he doing in here? We're taking him downstairs." Dr. London said somewhat seriously.

"He insisted on seeing Agent Fitzgerald first. So, how is he?" Dr. Winters said respectfully as he looked at Martin's chart.

"Well, he's stable for the moment. We won't have anything concrete until we get the results. But it looks like he's going to recover." Dr. London said a bit seriously but kindly and Jack couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes as he shook and held Martin's hand carefully tight between both his own.

"Martin?" Jack softly cried smiling as he looked at Martin's saddened blue eyes that were now stained with tears. "Can you hear me, Martin?" He softly cried smiling as he tried to regain his composure, causing Jack to softly laugh crying when Martin weakly squeezed his hand as fresh tears escaped his eyes. "It's great to have you both back, Martin. Everything is going to be okay. We're a family and we're going to take care of you and Danny. I promise. Welcome home, Son. Welcome home to your family." Jack cried smiling and Martin silently cried shaking as he held Jack's hand tighter.

Martin held Jack's hand weakly, but tightly, and began breathing somewhat erratically through his nose as he shook.

"Calm down, Agent Fitzgerald. I imagine that you're wondering about your friend, Agent Taylor. Am I correct in my assumption?" Dr. Winters said seriously but compassionately and more tears escaped his eyes as he squeezed Jack's hand again. "I don't know what you're thinking, but Agent Taylor is next door. He's awake and he's been asking about you? Now, you can't see each other yet. But as soon as you're both out of danger, we'll have you moved to a room together so that all of your colleagues out there can see you, okay." He said kindly but Martin looked at him confused and then looked to Jack when Jack squeezed his hand.

"You two have had everyone worried about you. Ever since they found out about you two getting hurt, there have been NYPD Officers and FBI Agents waiting for you and Danny to wake up. They've given their blood, they've prayed for you and they haven't left the hospital at all. They said they're not leaving until they know that you guys are safe." Jack softly cried caringly as he held on to Martin's hand.

All of a sudden, however, Martin's face grimaced in agony and there was a look of terror in his eyes as he shook more.

"Shhh. Calm down, Martin. You're going to be okay." Jack said sternly but concerned but Martin became more terrified as the images of what he and Danny had been through, hit him like a ton of bricks. "Look at me and calm your ass down right now, Martin. You're safe okay. You're safe and those fucking animals are dead. They can't ever hurt you again." Jack said very harshly as he gently forced Martin to look at his eyes, causing Martin to cry silently as he shook very violently.

"_What about the victim, Jack? They executed a guy in front of us and we didn't do anything to stop it." _Martin silently cried beside himself as he weakly clawed Jack's hand. _"We're supposed to protect the innocent and instead we didn't do a damn thing to save him." _Martin cried angrily to himself.

"Do you need anything, Doctors?" Vicky asked concerned as she entered Martin's room. She had become very concerned when she saw that Martin's vitals had become unstable. "May I, Sirs?" She asked of Martin and Dr. Winters and Dr. London both nodded so she took a hold of Martin's free hand and softly soothed Martin's hand. "Hello, sweetheart. My name is Nurse Vicky and I've been treating you and your friend, Agent Taylor. He's been very worried about you. I know that he wouldn't want to see you like this, so can you please calm down?" She said compassionately but concerned but Martin weakly shook his head and thrashed weakly. "Shhh. Are you trying to say something? Is that why you're so upset?" She said soothingly as she carefully soothed Martin's face with a cool washcloth and Martin weakly squeezed her hand.

"Well, if I'm going to give you something to write with, you're going to have calm down, Agent Fitzgerald. Otherwise, I'm going to have to sedate you and I don't want to do that. So, calm down and I'll let you try to write something." Dr. London said a bit sternly but compassionately, causing Martin's vitals to stabilize several minutes later as tears stained every crevice of his face.

"Do you want to try to write now?" Nurse Vicky said kindly and Martin weakly clawed her hand. "Don't do that because you keep scratching me and it hurts. Just blink once for yes or two for no, okay. Now, let's try that again. Do you want to try write?" She said caringly and Martin weakly squeezed her hand as tears escaped his eyes and he blinked once. "Okay, good. I'm going to put a pen in your hand and you're going to write on the notepad. Here we go." She said caringly as she gently put a pen on Martin's hand and he began scribbling on the notepad.

"De...ad." Martin wrote and then grimaced in pain.

"Danny's not dead, sweetie. You're both, okay. You're in St. Luke's Hospital." Nurse Vicky said caringly as she softly soothed his head but Martin blinked twice.

"No…Danny. Man…head…gun." Martin wrote on the pad.

"I don't understand." Nurse Vicky said to Jack and he sighed heavily.

"I think I know what he's talking about." Jack said with a heavy sigh and then gently made Martin look at him. "Martin, are you talking about the victim that was shot in the woods? The rangers found him when they were looking for you. Did Carr and his men do that?" Jack questioned gently and Martin's face grimaced as he blinked once and fresh tears escaped his eyes. "Shhh. No, that wasn't your fault, kiddo. I know that you two did everything that you could to save him. But is that what started your entire ordeal?" He said gently as he held Martin's hand in his own, and Martin grimaced again as he blinked and squeezed Jack's hand.

"I'm sorry, Agent Fitzgerald, but I'm going to have to stop this for now. We have to run some tests on you to see if you're okay. But if you're stable when we bring you back, I'll allow you to have visitors. They'll only be allowed in here for a minute but when you get better, we'll move you to a regular room with Agent Taylor and you can have all the visitors you want. However, if that's to happen, you must remain calm when they come in. Is that understood? Otherwise, I can't allow visitors." Dr. London said seriously but compassionately and Martin blinked as he released Vicky's hand but weakly squeezed Jack's hand.

"What is it, Martin?" Jack said caringly and noticed that Martin kept trying to look toward his mouth and grimaced as more tears escaped his eyes. "I get it, kiddo. Let me ask him." He said compassionately. "Doc, he's wondering when you're going to remove that horrid tubing." Jack said concerned and Dr. London looked at Martin.

"I'm sorry, Agent Fitzgerald, but until we run more tests on you, I won't be able to make that determination. Now, let go of your friend so that I can go start on those tests." Dr. London said kindly but Martin looked at Jack fearfully and weakly held his hand tighter.

"Shhh. Calm down, okay. You're safe here and no one's going to hurt you. I promise. So, behave and listen to what the doc tells you. Got it? That's an order, Agent Fitzgerald." Jack said with a smile and Martin's eyes suddenly crinkled in mirth as he released Jack's hand. "Good. Hey, at least you and Danny-boy are lucky." He said with an amused smile but Martin looked at him confused. "Well, you and Danny-boy have got this hot nurse all to yourselves, and she's been taking really good care of you." Jack said with a devious smile and then softly chuckled amused when Martin's face reddened furiously and his eyes crinkled in mirth. "There you go, Doc. That'll keep him calm for a while." He chuckled amused and Dr. London, Dr. Winters, and Nurse Vicky quietly chuckled amused as she reddened furiously out of embarrassment.

"All right. Well, go back to the waiting room and we'll go talk to you when we have his results." Dr. Winters said with a warm smile.

"You heard the doc, Fitzgerald. I'll be back later." Jack said with smile and Martin's eyes crinkled in mirth again, causing Jack to leave the room and return to the waiting room as he chuckled amused and tears stained his face.

"What's the matter, Jack? What happened in there?" Agent Chuck said very concerned.

"Martin's awake." Jack said with a chuckle as tears escaped his eyes and he wiped them away.

"We already know that, Jack. How the hell is he?" Sam said calmly, but angrily, out of fear, and Jeff embraced her carefully tight from behind.

"Sweetheart, you need to calm down. Okay? Getting mad at Jack isn't going to help matters. We're all worried about our boys but we need to stay calm and have faith that they're going to make it." Jeff said a bit sternly but lovingly as he held Sam.

"He's right, Sam. Look, Martin's awake already and they're going to run tests downstairs on him now. He's responsive. At first he panicked because he thought that Danny was dead but he calmed down after I reassured him that Danny was alive and well in the room next door. He was also able to answer my questions and confirmed that Carr and his men murdered the victim that the rangers found in the woods. Until they're out of the ICU, though, and the tubes are removed, we won't know exactly what happened to them out there." Jack said kindly and then looked to the exhausted-looking officers and agents still gathered in the ICU waiting room. "I really appreciate what all you have done for my men, but you should really go home and get some rest. You deserve it." He said kindly.

"Forget it, Malone. We're not going anywhere until we know for sure that our guys are completely out of danger, and that they're going to be okay." Captain Mike Randall said with conviction and everyone cheered and agreed. "Even then, we're still going to come back to check on them. We never abandon our own, Agent Malone. You know that." He said with a conviction and with a proud smile as he shook Jack's hand, and Jack couldn't stop the fresh tears that escaped his eyes.

"Thank you and all your men for everything you've done for my boys." Jack said as his voice broke and he tightly shook Captain Randall's hand and everyone cheered and clapped, causing them to quiet down when Dr. London and Dr. Winters entered the waiting room. "What happened?" He said calmly but fearfully.

"Calm down, will you? You're all making a ruckus out here and the patients can hear it inside. This is still a hospital, so keep it down." Dr. Winters said a bit sternly but compassionately and everyone quietly chuckled amused.

"Where's Martin?" Viv said concerned.

"Nurse Vicky already took him downstairs and that's where we're going. We'll be back in a while. If you'd like to see Agent Taylor, you may. But he may only have one visitor at a time for no longer than a minute. The nurses also have strict orders to immediately discontinue all visits if Agent Taylor becomes upset and unstable again. They're also going to make sure that no one stays in with him for longer than a minute. One last thing, if he's still sleeping from the medication that we gave him, you can still see him but don't awaken him. Is that understood?" Dr. Winters said seriously but kindly and everyone nodded. "Good. Now decide for yourselves who's going to see him and we'll be back later on." He said kindly and then left downstairs with Dr. London.

Over the next two hours in which doctors remained downstairs with Martin, the team, several agents, and several officers, were able to see Danny. Danny, of course, wasn't aware of it because he'd continued sleeping. Jeff was leaving Danny's room, when he saw Martin being wheeled into his room, causing him to gasp and go in after him.

"What do you think you're doing here? I told you that he could not have visitors until we talked to everyone." Dr. London said very seriously.

"I was seeing Danny but he's still asleep. Please let me see Martin. Please, just for a minute. I swear that I won't upset him. I promise." Jeff pled as he folded his hands and fresh tears escaped his eyes. Danny and Martin were his best friends and he thought of them as brothers. There was no way that he could leave that room without seeing for himself that Martin was really okay. "Please." He pled again when the doctors wouldn't answer him.

"Fine. You have one minute starting now, and then you're out of here." Dr. London said sternly but compassionately as he began looking at his watch.

"Martin?" Jeff softly cried caringly as he held Martin's hand with one hand and soothed his head with the other, causing tears to escape Martin's eyes as he weakly but tightly squeezed Jeff's hand. "You're going to be okay, kiddo. You and Danny have had us all worried, but I know that you're both going to be okay. You'll be out of here in no time, you'll see." He softly cried smiling as he gently wiped away Martin's falling tears. "Shhh. Don't worry about anything right now, okay. You just stay calm and let this hot little nurse here take care of you and Danny. Once you go to a regular room, then we'll talk." He softly cried smiling and then softly chuckled amused when Martin's face reddened furiously.

"Your time is up, Agent Carmichael." Dr. London said seriously but kindly but Martin weakly shook his head and gripped Jeff's hand tighter.

"Shhh. Don't do that, kiddo. I'm not going home, okay. I'm just going to go outside to the waiting room to let the others know that you're feeling better. So, calm down. Besides, you've got a hot nurse taking care of you and making you feel very well, so what are you complaining about? So, stop bugging out just because I have to step out. I'm leaving you in very capable hands, hound dog. That's what I thought, kiddo. I'll see you in a bit." He said caringly as tears stained his face but Martin gripped his hand again, causing Nurse Vicky to grab his other hand when he tried touching his mouth.

"Don't do that, sweetie. Leave that tube alone. I know that it bothers but it's helping you breathe, okay." Nurse Vicky said caringly.

"Doc, when are you going to remove that stupid tube?" Jeff said crossly out of concern.

"That stupid tube, as you so nicely call it, is helping your friend to breathe. For the moment, the tube has to remain in place. His blood work shows some improvement in the amount of oxygen he's getting in his blood, but not enough to remove the tubing. Of course we'll keep monitoring him, and once the levels are back to a normal level, we'll remove the tubing then. For now, though, he has to rest because he's exhausted from the testing and your time is up. So, please go back to the waiting room." Dr. London said seriously but compassionately.

"You heard the doc, kiddo. I'll see you in a little while." Jeff said with a small smile as he soothed Martin's head like a child and fresh tears escaped Martin's eyes. "Stay calm, kid. I'll be outside." He tried but Martin blinked twice and looked towards Vicky. "I don't understand, kiddo." He said gently but concerned and Martin weakly clawed his hand as more tears escaped his eyes and he looked towards Nurse Vicky again, causing her to sigh and softly soothe Martin's face.

"You're not looking at me, are you? You're trying to find out how your friend Agent Taylor is doing." Nurse Vicky said caringly and Martin blinked once as he grimaced and tears stained his face. "Shhh. He's doing well, sweetie. He's sleeping comfortably right now because of a medicine that Dr. Winters gave him. I know that you want to see him but that can't happen yet. But as long as you stay calm, I'll keep you informed of his condition. Now, please let go of your friend's hand because I have to treat you now and he can't be in the room." Nurse Vicky said compassionately.

"What are you going to do to him?" Jeff said calmly but he looked at her frightened.

"Like Dr. London explained, your time is up, so please leave the room, Agent Carmichael. As for your question, I have to remove his bandages and put fresh ones. Now, please return to the waiting room and the doctors will be out there to talk to you and your team when they have a chance." Nurse Vicky said a bit seriously but compassionately and Jeff smiled softly.

"All right, kiddo. You heard this hottie. I have to leave the room. Behave, will you." Jeff said with a devious smile and a raised eyebrow, causing him to return to the waiting room, with an amused smile, when Martin's face reddened furiously.

"What the hell took you so long in there?" Sam said angrily out of fear. She was acting like a bitch with everyone, especially Jeff, and she knew it. She just didn't know how else to react. Although a relationship with Martin could never work out, she still cared a lot for him and hated knowing that he was now laying in a hospital room hooked up to machines, in pain, and not being able to talk.

"Sam, why don't you go home and get some rest?" Jeff said caringly and Sam glared at him. "Look, I know that you're worried about Martin but he's doing much better, okay. So, stop getting mad at me and everyone else here because it's not going to help the situation. The reason I took long in there was because when I was leaving Danny's room, I saw Dr. London and Dr. Winters taking Martin into his room. I convinced Dr. London to let me see Martin for a minute and then he kicked me out." Jeff said somewhat sternly but compassionately.

"How are Martin and Danny doing, Jeff? When I left Danny, he was scrunching his face and trying to move as he slept and I still haven't seen Martin." Viv asked concerned.

"The doctors will be out soon to discuss Martin's results. As for Danny, Nurse Vicky went in when I was visiting Danny and put something in his IV that relaxed him. He was probably in pain or having nightmares. But once she injected Danny, he stayed completely still. She said that Danny's going to sleep for several hours." Jeff said kindly and just then, Dr. London and Dr. Winters left the ICU and entered the waiting room.

"Agent Malone." Dr. London said seriously but kindly as he held a chart in his hands.

"How's Martin? How's Danny? Are you going to remove those breathing tubes? Can we see Martin?" Viv said a mile a minute and Dr. Winters gently squeezed her shoulder and soothed her back as he smiled softly.

"I need you to calm down and take a breath, okay. We're all working very hard to help your friends." Dr. Winters said with a warm smile and Viv took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Why don't all of you go home for a while? Get something to eat, shower, change your clothes, get some rest, and once you're refreshed, you can come back." He said kindly.

"That's not going to happen until we know for certain that Martin and Danny aren't going to die. Now, what the hell do Martin's tests say?" Sam said angrily through gritted teeth and Jack looked at her harshly.

"That's enough, Sam. You need to cool off and calm down. I already told you that he's feeling a little better." Jack said harshly but with compassionate undertones and Sam glared at him.

"All right, that's enough. Both of you settle down." Dr. London said sternly but compassionately. "Both of you settle down or I'll have you removed from here. There are other critical patients in here aside from your agents. So, you need to behave yourselves, and show some compassion and respect for the other patients and their families by being quiet. Now, that being said, would you like to discuss Agent Fitzgerald's results or shall I have you escorted downstairs?" Dr. London said seriously but compassionately.

"We're sorry, doc. We're just worried about our boys. But go ahead and talk." Jack said with a heavy sigh as he rubbed his pained forehead.

"We ran a full body MRI scan, blood work, and other tests on Agent Fitzgerald and although, he was hurt pretty badly, he's actually doing better than Agent Taylor." Dr. London explained gently and the team's heads bolted upright.

"What the hell are you talking about? What's wrong with Danny?" Viv said seriously out of fear and Dr. Winters gently soothed her back again.

"Please let me finish. Agent Fitzgerald's scan shows that he does have trauma to his head. He has a large skull fracture but he's not bleeding into his brain. Both of their wounds, however, are infected and we're treating both he and Agent Taylor with powerful antibiotics." Dr. London said seriously but kindly.

"You said before that he's not bleeding inside anymore, but you also said that both Danny and Martin have broken ribs. What's going to happen with those? Isn't there a big chance that the broken ribs can cause him or Danny to bleed again?" Jack said seriously concerned.

"The only thing to do now with the fractured ribs is to give your friends pain and anti-inflammation medication and allow the ribs to heal on their own; which by the way could take anywhere from six weeks or longer." Dr. Winters said kindly.

"When can we see Martin? Jeff already told us that he saw him?" Sam said through gritted teeth.

"Look, I know that you care about Agent Fitzgerald, but unless you calm down and control that attitude, I'm not going to allow you back in there. So, my suggestion is that you go home and rest and then come back when you're calmer." Dr. London said sternly but compassionately but Sam glared at him angrily.

"May I speak privately with you, Dr. London?" Jack said seriously but kindly and Dr. London led him inside to the ICU where they continued talking for several minutes and then returned to the waiting room.

"After speaking with Agent Malone, I'll allow you to visit Agent Fitzgerald only for a minute and you're not to awaken him if he's sleeping." Dr. London said seriously.

"That's not all, Sam. You haven't slept or eaten in almost forty-eight hours. So, once you see Martin, I'm going to drive you home. You're going to freshen up, eat, and get some sleep. Once you're really refreshed, you can come back to the hospital. But if you so much as try to come anywhere near here without getting some rest, I'll have another agent escort you home and make sure that he keeps you there." Jack said sternly but caringly and Sam glared angrily at him.

"Follow me, Miss." Dr. London said seriously and then led Sam to Martin's room, causing her to gasp fearfully and cover her mouth when she saw the blood-soaked dressings that Nurse Vicky was disposing of. "Don't do that." He quietly said sternly because he knew that if Martin heard her, he'd start to panic. "You have one minute starting now." He said seriously but compassionately and she quickly grabbed a carefully tight hold of Martin's hand and looked at Martin, causing him to open his eyes when she softly soothed his face and head.

"Marty?" Sam softly cried smiling and fresh tears escaped his eyes, causing her to softly soothe and kiss his face when he weakly squeezed his hand. "Shhh. Please don't cry." She softly cried caringly and he suddenly looked towards Nurse Vicky and blinked repeatedly.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Do you want to try to write again?" Nurse Vicky said caringly and he blinked once. "Here you go." She said kindly as she put a pen in Martin's hand and held the pad.

"Look awful…Sam. Home." Martin wrote as he gave her a sympathetic look and weakly squeezed her hand, causing Sam to quietly cry emotionally as she shook her head and kissed his hand.

"Please not cry, Sam. Not going anywhere. Not leaving you or team. Promise. Love all you. Now please go home. Sleep then come back. Please, Sam. For me?" Martin wrote on the notepad as fresh tears escaped his eyes and he softly soothed her face.

"I don't want to leave you here alone." Sam quietly cried emotionally and fearfully as she softly soothed Martin's face.

"Not alone. Vicky, doctors take care me. Be okay. Please. Home, sleep. Come back after sleep and eat. Not going anywhere. Promise." Martin wrote as he weakly, but gently, wiped away Sam's tears.

"Promise that you're not going to…" Sam quietly cried emotionally but couldn't continue when he weakly covered her mouth and weakly shook his head as tears stained his face.

"Miss, your time is up. I'm sorry." Dr. London said sympathetically and Sam quietly cried more.

"Go home. Love you." Martin wrote on the notepad as he struggled to remain awake.

"What's wrong?" Sam softly cried fearfully.

"Sleepy." Martin wrote as he struggled to remain awake. "See later, beautiful." He wrote weakly and then gave in to sleep, causing Nurse Vicky to take a gentle hold of Sam when she covered her face and quietly cried distraught.

"Don't cry like that, honey. We're taking very good care of Agent Fitzgerald. So, listen to him and get some rest. We'll keep you updated on their conditions." Nurse Vicky said compassionately as she led Sam back to the waiting room.

"Did something happen?" Viv said concerned when they came into the waiting room.

"Agent Fitzgerald wants everyone here to go home and rest." Nurse Vicky said kindly but everyone protested. "Please respect his wishes. He knows that all of you are exhausted and haven't moved from here since they were brought here. You're not going to help Agent Fitzgerald by making yourselves sick." Nurse Vicky said kindly as Jack took a hold of Sam.

"She's right. All of you need to go home, get some rest and then, if you'd like, you can come back here. Otherwise, it's going to upset both agents very much knowing that you're here worried sick about them and not taking of yourselves." Dr. London said kindly.

"Look, from what we're seeing now, they've shown remarkable improvement and they're conscious. I know that it doesn't seem like much, but they have a much better prognosis and have a greater chance for survival now than they did before. So please go home and rest and we'll keep Agent Malone informed of any changes in the agents' conditions." Dr. Winters said kindly and after several minutes of protesting, everyone decided that it would be best to get some rest.

Everyone left with the promise that they'd be back, whenever possible, to check on Danny and Martin. The team, agents, and officers kept their word and continuously returned to the hospital to visit Danny and Martin. As for Danny and Martin, their conditions improved slowly but surely and Dr. Winters and Dr. London told the team and the others that they were confident, that if there were no other complications, Danny and Martin were going to make a full recovery.

After one week in the ICU, Martin was finally getting his breathing tube removed. He was happy as hell about getting rid of that atrocious tube. Martin felt like he couldn't breathe and he was frustrated about not being able to talk to anyone. Yet, although part of him was happy about getting rid of the tube, another part of him was very fearful because he knew all too well that he would be awake for the procedure. His monitor began racing quickly as Nurse Vicky entered the room and she softly soothed Martin's face.

"Hey, are you okay, sweetie? You should be happy. You're going to be free of that tube today." Nurse Vicky said with a warm smile but Martin looked at her fearfully. "Shhh. Don't be scared, sweetheart. I'm going to explain everything before I start, okay. Now, I know that you're going to want to talk after I remove the tube but I don't want you to strain your voice. So, stay relaxed and quiet." She said caringly as she carefully sat Martin's bed up and began setting up the necessary equipment, causing Martin to look at her very fearfully and weakly shake his head when he saw said equipment.

"How are we doing in here?" Dr. London said kindly as he entered Martin's room.

"He's afraid of getting the tubing removed." Nurse Vicky said respectfully.

"Don't worry about anything, Agent Fitzgerald. This is only going to take a few minutes." Dr. London explained kindly but Martin weakly shook his head as he fearfully looked at the equipment and fresh tears escaped his eyes, causing Dr. London to prepare a syringe. "Just relax. You're going to feel better soon." He said kindly.

Nurse Vicky prepared all of the necessary equipment, and after several minutes of giving Martin air with an Ambu bag, the tube was quickly removed. As soon as that happened, Martin began coughing, gagging, and thrashing violently. He was quickly hooked up to oxygen and after several tense minutes and a light sedative, Martin settled down and his breathing stabilized.

"See, I told you that you were going to be okay. I want you to get some sleep." Dr. London with a kind smile but Martin tried to talk as he pointed to Danny's room. "I'm sorry, but you can't see him yet; not until you're moved downstairs." He said kindly but Martin pouted and glared at him. "Get some sleep and I'll come back to check on you later." Dr. London said with a warm smile and then left the room.

"Want…see him." Martin said breathlessly and weakly but then coughed.

"That's not going to happen, sweetheart. You heard Dr. London." Nurse Vicky said a bit seriously but compassionately and he glared angrily at her. "That's not nice, sweetheart. I've been keeping you updated on your friend's condition ever since you two awakened. Look, I know that you're frustrated because we can't let you see him but you'll see him when you get transferred out of here." She said caringly but Martin angrily fisted his hand as he tried to sit up. "Stop that or I'm going to have to restrain you and then I'm going to call your boss. You're not getting up from here." She said sternly and had no choice but to restrain Martin when Martin tried to sit up again, causing her to then pick up a phone and dial the nurse's desk. "Nick, do me a favor and escort Agent Malone to Agent Fitzgerald's room. Thank you." She said seriously and then ended the call.

"Want…see…him." Martin weakly said angrily through gritted teeth as he coughed again.

"What's going on in here?" Jack said seriously out of concern as he entered Martin's room half a minute later.

"I had to restrain your friend here because he keeps trying to go into Agent Taylor's room." Nurse Vicky said seriously as she gave Martin a stern look.

"I already told you that you can't see Danny-boy yet. What's your problem?" Jack said sternly but compassionately.

"Don't…believe you…more. Dan…ny's…dead. You liar." Martin weakly said angrily as tears stained his face.

"He's not dead, you stubborn asshole. He's alive and next door. You know that I've never lied to you so why in the hell would I do it now? He's next door. Danny's still intubated but he's getting better and when he gets his tubing removed, if you're both out of danger, you'll be transferred out of here and you'll be able to see him then." Jack said sternly.

"Go…hell." Martin weakly said angrily as he struggled to remain awake.

"Thank you. Go to sleep." Jack said sternly but slightly amused. "What did you give him?" He said to Nurse Vicky with an amused smile.

"Dr. London gave him a sedative that sometimes causes patients to become irritable. Come on. He needs his rest." Nurse Vicky said with a warm smile as Martin gave in to sleep and they went out into the hall where they began speaking to Dr. London.

"Doc, isn't there any way that Martin can see Danny? If he could see that Danny's okay, I know that Martin wouldn't cause any more trouble." Jack said with a frustrated sigh.

"I already told you that they can't see one another until they are transferred out of the ICU, I'm sorry." Dr. London explained seriously.

"Well, I'm afraid that we're going to have to come up with a better solution than that, Jeffery. That Agent Taylor is a very stubborn patient. He keeps looking over at Agent Fitzgerald's room and writing that he wants to see his friend. He called me a liar and said that the reason we kept telling him that he can't see him, is because his friend is dead. Look, I know it's not our policy, but what it we wheeled your patient to Agent Taylor's door? That way they could see that the other is really alive." Dr. Winters said slightly amused.

"All right, fine. But just for a minute. Prepare your patient and I'll move Agent Fitzgerald." Dr. London said seriously and then gently awakened Martin. "Look at me, young man. I'm going to let you see your friend now but only for a minute. And this the last time you fight with me and my staff. Is that understood? Once you see your friend, you will be on your best behavior and allow us to do our job and treat you. Do you understand me? If you lose control again, you won't see Agent Taylor again." He said sternly but with compassionately.

"We're ready over here, Dr. London." Nurse Vicky said respectfully and Dr. London carefully moved Martin's into the hall in front of Danny's door.

"Agent Taylor, you have a special visitor." Dr. Winters said with a smile as he very carefully sat up Danny's bed.

For the first time since their rescue, Danny and Martin were finally able to see one another, causing tears to stain both their faces as they weakly waved to one another.

"Are you okay, brother?" Martin cried softly as the tears flowed freely from his eyes and Danny wrote on the new dry-erase board that Dr. Winters had given him.

"_I thought you were dead, Fitzy. They kept telling me that you were okay but they wouldn't let me see you." _Danny silently cried emotionally and then noticed that Martin didn't have a tube in his mouth. _"That's not fair. You don't have a stupid tube like I do. Tell them to take this shit out."_ He silently cried emotionally as he looked at Martin crossly.

"Calm down. They'll take it out soon." Martin said breathless and then began coughing and noticed the terrified look on Danny's face. "I'm okay. I'm just not supposed to talk because they just took that stupid tube out of me." He said breathless and with a cough.

"_Then stop talking, you idiot."_ Danny silently cried crossly and Martin weakly chuckled amused.

"Thanks a lot." Martin weakly chuckled amused as he coughed.

"I'm sorry but your time is up. You both need to rest." Dr. London said with a kind smile but Danny weakly shook his head and looked at Martin fearfully as tears stained both their faces.

"Shhh. Calm down, kiddo. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. We're partners and we have a lot of people out there who still need our help. So, let's get out here soon and go back to work." Martin cried caringly and Danny nodded weakly.

"Promise." Danny wrote on the board.

"I promise. Now, let's let Vicky here take very good care of us." Martin said with a devious look and smile on his face and Danny's eyes crinkled in mirth as his face reddened and he wagged his eyebrows. "See you later, brother." Martin said with an amused chuckle as he yawned and waved to Danny.

"_Bye."_ Danny wrote on the board with a sad look on his face.

"See you soon, brother." Martin said weakly and Dr. London led him back to his room.

"All right, Agent Fitzgerald. I let you see your friend but now I want you to get some sleep." Dr. London said kindly and Martin gave in to some much needed sleep because he now knew that his best friend was safe.

Two days after Martin had his tube removed, Dr. Winters finally removed Danny's breathing tube and put a pressurized oxygen mask on him. Several days passed and seeing that they were out of danger, Dr. London and Dr. Winters released Danny and Martin from the ICU and transferred them to a regular room. Martin was transferred first and then Danny, causing Martin to smile when Danny was brought into the room and Danny held his hand in a tight, brotherhood grip as he sighed heavily in relief.

"I told you that I wasn't going anywhere." Martin said with a smile.

"You scared the hell out of me. I thought that you had died and they didn't want to tell me anything." Danny said softly.

"I thought the same thing." Martin said softly but couldn't continue when there was a knock at the door; it was Jeff.

"Hey, how are you guys feeling?" Jeff said caringly as he embraced both Danny and Martin and fresh tears escaped their eyes.

"You're here to ask us about what happened to us in those woods, aren't you?" Danny cried softly but somewhat fearfully as he began shaking a bit and Martin gripped his hand tighter.

"I'm so sorry, kiddo. I don't want to, but I came myself because OPR was going to come interview you two, and I didn't want them to come. You know what assholes they can be. So, can you two talk to me and tell me what happened out there?" Jeff said gently but Danny shook his head and began sweating, causing Jeff to gently ruffle his head. "Calm down, kiddo. Maybe Martin can tell me what happened." He said gently and Martin nodded.

Thirty minutes went by as Martin recounted to Jeff what had happened on their hiking trip—from the moment they arrived, up until Jeff and the team arrived on that mountain top to rescue them. By the time Martin finished talking, tears stained all their faces and Danny was shaking somewhat uncontrollably as he held his head.

"Shhh. Please doing cry like that, kiddo. You're safe now and those freakin' sociopaths can't hurt you anymore. And I promise you that Carr's got a surprise coming to him where he's going. He's going to regret the day he was ever born." Jeff cried softly but with conviction as he carefully embraced Danny and Martin and they continued crying for fifteen minutes until Nurse Vicky entered the room.

"Hey, are you two okay?" Nurse Vicky said concerned as she checked their vitals and wrote on their charts.

"They're okay, Vicky. They were just telling me what happened to them." Jeff said softly as he sniffled and wiped his face clean. "Listen, I have to get back to work and write up your report. I'll be back to see you after work and so will the others. For now, just take it easy and try to calm down, okay. I'll see you soon." He said caringly as he embraced Danny and Martin carefully and then left.

Over the next several days, Danny and Martin enjoyed the company of the countless police officers and agents that came to visit them at the hospital. What they didn't enjoy, however, was being poked and prodded by needles, having to spend hours doing painful physical therapy, and they hated the fact that they had to undergo psychological therapy. The only thing that made it possible to withstand their stay at the hospital, was having the love and support of their family and friends. It also didn't hurt that Nurse Vicky was taking very good care of them.

_**Two Weeks Later, After Danny and Martin's Rescue…**_

_**Riker's Island Prison…**_

It was Monday morning when Bobby 'the snake' Carr and other inmates arrived at the prison. They were put into prison uniforms and taken directly to their cells after they signed in. But little did Carr know that he was in for a special treat from his new next door cellmate. His new neighbor was Rafi, Danny's brother, but neither of them knew who the other was.

"So, why'd you get locked in here?" Rafi said seriously as he cracked his knuckles and Carr immediately straightened up and glared at Rafi.

"Murder. I killed a bitch cop after I tortured her and I killed a rat in the woods who testified again me at my first murder trial. The rat told police all the details of what I did to her. It was so funny the way he squealed and begged me not to kill him but I shot him dead. I would've gotten out of there free and clear if those damn pigs hadn't of showed up." Carr said with an evil grin as he balanced himself on his cane. "That's okay, though. We had a lot of fun torturing those two stupid pigs." He said with a sneer.

"What pigs are you talking about?" Rafi said seriously.

"Two pigs showed up when I shot that rat snitch, but that's okay, though. We had a lot of fun torturing them." He said with a sneer. Yeah, this was a perfect moment for the other inmates to realize that he meant business and that he wasn't going to be a pushover or someone's girlfriend in prison.

"What did you do to them?" Rafi said seriously as he began getting a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I hunted them in the woods like the pigs they are; hunted them for three days and nights. Sometimes, I'd pull back and make them think they were safe. We burned them with cigarettes, shot them, and beat them to a bloody pulp. Unfortunately, the stupid rangers and FBI found us when we were about to kill the pigs. It's okay, though. I shot the tall pig straight in the chest; probably killed him. The stupid little pig stabbed me in the leg but my partner managed to shoot him in the head and in the neck. Ha, you should've seen the pigs choking on their own blood." He said with a sadistic laugh.

All of a sudden, something clicked inside Rafi's head. Jack had come to the prison to talk to him about Danny and Martin's conditions. Jack told Rafi that Danny and Martin had had their breathing tubes removed and that they'd told Jeff what happened to them out there in those woods. Jack told Rafi every sickening detail about what had happened to Danny and Martin in the woods. It was this _**animal**_ standing before him. This son of a bitch standing before him laughing was talking about his baby brother and Martin. Rafi could feel his rage growing and he grabbed Carr by his throat, slamming him hard against the cell wall.

"Get the hell off me!" Carr said furiously but Rafi slammed him onto the wall again.

"You sick son of a bitch! You're the one who kidnapped and tortured my baby brother and his partner!" Rafi growled furiously as he slammed Carr into the wall again.

"Your brother, man? Who the hell is your brother?" Carr said frightfully, for the first time, as his eyes bugged out and he shook.

"You should know, you sick son of bitch. You tortured my baby brother and his best friend out there in those woods, the federal agents you almost murdered, and the ones who tried to keep you from murdering that snitch. Now that I know who you are, you're going to pay for what you did to my family. That's what they both are, my family. You're going to regret the day you ever laid a finger on them, you piece of shit." Rafi growled furiously as he continued holding Carr by his throat, causing Rafi to let him go when he heard the guards coming.

"Is there a problem here, Rafael? Do I need to put you back in solitary?" The warden said seriously as he stood in front of the open cell.

"No, boss, there's no problem here. My new friend and I were just having a chat. We were just talking about what got him locked up here. Apparently, he's a lifer." Rafi said with a smile.

"Don't think that I buy that pathetic excuse for a second. You stay the hell out of trouble. I know for a fact that he's the one who hurt your brother and Agent Fitzgerald. So, stay out of trouble and don't try to take the law into your own hands. Otherwise, I won't allow Agent Malone to escort you to see your brother again and I'll lock you in the hole for six months. I don't want you near him. Do I make myself clear, Rafi? Get the hell out of here right now and don't you dare come back to this cell or come anywhere near him. Go." The warden said harshly and two officers led Rafi away to his cell, causing him to look at Carr very harshly. "Don't you dare start any trouble in my jail or your ass is going to the hole for a year. By the way, you better hope that the other inmates don't find out why you're here. The inmates here, they like and respect those two agents that you and your men tortured and tried to kill. Get out of my sight. Now." He said harshly and another officer led him away.

After spending several hours of his new life in his permanent home, Carr was furious and already planning his escape. Ever since his encounter with Rafi, the other inmates looked at him angrily and some of them even swiped their fingers across their throats as they glared at him. Six o'clock had come and the inmates gathered their clothes and went into the showers. As soon as they were in the showers, and away from any guards, two inmates grabbed Carr and a third began beating the hell out of him for a minute, causing Carr to struggle to breathe as they threw him roughly on the floor and kicked him one last time.

"That was for Taylor and Fitzgerald. They're well liked here by everyone and we already know what you did to them, you sick son of a bitch. But you're going to regret the rest of your life what you did to them. This was nothing. This was only a small taste of what's going to happen to you in here. You're going to wish you were dead but that's not happen. We're going to make sure that you pay the rest of your life what you put those guys through." The inmate said viciously as he pulled Carr's hair and then they resumed taking showers, causing Carr to surrender to complete darkness on the shower room floor when they released him.

_**St. Luke's Hospital…**_

Back at the hospital, after being hospitalized for six weeks, Martin was being released and Danny was less than happy at the entire idea. He didn't want to be stuck in the hospital by himself. Why the hell wouldn't they release him? So what if he still couldn't walk or talk correctly and so what if his memory was forgetful; he wanted to get the hell out there already and go back to work, causing him to sigh frustrated as he pouted angrily at Martin.

"I can't believe that you're getting out of here before I am. It's not fair. Don't forget me here, Fitzy." Danny said crossly but caringly as he pouted and Martin held his hand in a tight, brotherhood grip, with his good hand; his left arm in a sling.

"Don't worry, kiddo. I'll be back to visit you. But you'll be out of here in no time, you'll see. At least now, you'll really have Vicky all to yourself." Martin chuckled amused and Danny smiled from ear to ear as he wagged his eyebrows. "I better get out of here and leave you two alone." He chuckled amused.

"You're not going to anywhere walking. I'm wheeling you out of here, so sit that cute little butt of yours in the chair." Vicky said smiling amused as she sat him on the wheelchair. "Danny, I'll be back to take you downstairs for therapy." She said to Danny with a smile and then smiled more when he groaned loudly.

"Bye, Danny. I'll be back later with the rest of the team to check on you. Behave and do what Vicky and the others tell you. I love you." Sam said caringly as she hugged and kissed Danny.

"See you soon, little brother. Bye." Martin said chuckling amused as Vicky led him out of the room and Sam followed behind.

Sure, Martin said that he'd be back to visit Danny, but he had other ideas. Although Martin sounded like he was okay, he was anything but. The truth was that he couldn't face Danny anymore. He blamed himself for what those sociopaths had done to Danny and him out there in those woods. Martin felt that if he'd never asked Danny to go on that hiking trip with him, he would've been the only one who would've been hurt or worse. But instead, he'd opened his big mouth and asked Danny to come with him, and caused everything that had happened to them in those woods. No. There was no way that he could face Danny or anyone again. So, instead of keeping his promise to visit Danny in the hospital again, he lied. Four weeks passed and Martin never went back to see Danny again and never once called him.

_**4 Weeks Later, Monday 11:00AM**_

_**Danny Is Released…**_

Danny was angry and Jeff, Viv, and Jack knew it as they packed up his belongings. Danny was angry at Martin. How could his best friend, his partner, abandon him in a hospital and not come see him like he'd promised? For six weeks, Martin never once called or visited Danny and he never answered any of Danny's calls. How the hell could Martin do that to him, especially after the hell that they'd gone through? Sure, they'd told the others everything that they had gone through in those woods. Although they were kind to him, consoled him, and never left him alone, Martin was the only one who truly felt and understood exactly how he felt. Yet, the lying, selfish bastard had completely forgotten about him and left him alone. He was so angry and hurt that he couldn't stop the tears that escaped his eyes as he angrily punched his hospital bed.

"Calm down, sweetie. Look, I'm sure there's a reason for Martin not coming to see you." Viv outwardly said caringly, but inside, she was angry with Martin. How the hell could he not visit Danny, his best friend? Even worse, Martin had pushed away from everyone. He didn't want visitors and he never answered any of their calls in the four weeks that Martin had been released from the hospital.

"Screw that asshole, Viv. He's just a selfish bastard. When the hell are you guys taking me home? I want to leave. I'm tired of being in this stupid hospital. I've been here ten damn weeks." Danny said angrily through gritted teeth as he angrily wiped away his tears and punched the bed again, causing Jeff to soothe his head like a child. "Leave me alone and stop touching me." He said angrily through gritted teeth but that didn't deter Jeff.

"Take it easy, tiger. Being angry at us, isn't going to help things, okay. We haven't left you and you know that. We've been here with you every day. Look, I know that you're angry, but you also have to understand Marty, okay. He probably feels guilty about you two and that's why he's pushed everyone away. The important thing now is that you two talk and work things out. So, try to calm down." Jeff said compassionately as he gave water to Danny and Danny took several deep breaths as he tried to cool that hot temper of his.

"Either way, he's wrong for it, and you know it, Jeff. Martin promised that he would come back to see me, and he didn't. He's supposed to have my back both in and out of the field. Instead, he turned his back on me. Bastard." Danny said calmly but angrily.

"Hello, sweetie, I'm here to remove that IV so that I can wheel you downstairs." Nurse Vicky said with a warm smile as she put on some gloves, causing Danny to hiss when she removed the IV and bandaged his hand. "Sit still, sweetie. You sit your butt on that chair. Hospital rules." She said with a smile as she sat Danny in the wheelchair.

"So, what do you say, Vicky? Go out with me? Come on. I've been asking you out for a month. Don't you think it's time you stopped breaking my heart and went out with me?" Danny said with a devious smile as they wheeled him out and everyone chuckled amused.

"I told you that I can't date a patient." Nurse Vicky chuckled amused and reddened furiously.

"I'm not your patient anymore. Come on. Are you really going to say no to poor, sickly me?" Danny said with a devious smile and they all laughed amused again as he wagged his eyebrows at her again and pouted.

"Give it up, tiger. You're losing your touch. She already said no." Jeff chuckled amused as they arrived downstairs and Nurse Vicky wheeled him to the exit, causing her to smile amused as she removed a card from her pocket and gave it to Danny.

"If you're serious about going out with me, give me a call, big boy. I'm free on Saturday." Nurse Vicky said with an amused chuckle as she embraced Danny and softly kissed his cheek. "Bye." She said with a smile and Jack, Jeff, and Viv laughed hysterically when she headed back inside.

"What were you saying, Jeff?" Danny said with a devious grin on his face as they got into an FBI squad car.

"You two owe me a hundred bucks each. And Jack, you owe me a week off from work." Viv laughed amused as Jack and Jeff gave her the money.

"I can't believe you guys bet against me. It serves you right, you jerks." Danny said crossly as he smiled.

"Quit complaining. You've got the girl and I got my money and time off." Viv chuckled amused and they continued laughing until they got to Danny's apartment, causing Viv to gently squeeze Danny's hand when he bit his lips and his nose reddened furiously. "Come on, sweetie. It's okay." She said lovingly as she helped him out of the car and they headed upstairs to Danny's apartment.

"So, I guess I can go back to work tomorrow, right?" Danny said with a devious smile but his voice shook as he struggled not to cry, and Jeff softly ruffled his head.

"You don't have to pretend around us, kiddo. It's okay to feel a little overwhelmed about being back home after so long. What you and Martin went through, that wasn't easy but you're going to be okay. You'll see. And that therapist that Dr. Winters made you an appointment with is going to help you get back to a hundred percent." Jeff said caringly and Danny nodded sniffling emotionally as the tears he'd been holding back, escaped his eyes.

"Don't forget that you have your first appointment tomorrow at ten in the morning. Don't go anywhere else after that. It's to the therapist and then back here again. Understood?" Jack said kindly.

"Aw, come on, dad. I want to go back to work." Danny said crossly and they chuckled amused when he pouted angrily at Jack and crossed his arms.

"You're such a brat, you know that. I already told you that you're not allowed to come back to work until the therapist and your neurologist give the okay. So, I better not catch you anywhere near FBI Headquarters. Now, we have to get back to work, but we'll be back later to check on you. In the meantime, get some rest." Jack said a bit crossly but caringly and he, Jeff, and Viv embraced Danny and then left, causing Danny to lie down on the couch and fall asleep twenty minutes later.

Throughout the rest of the day everyone, except for Martin, called Danny from work to check up on him. Once they finally got out of work, they headed to Danny's house with dinner. They had dinner and let Danny sleep after they gave him his pain medication. The next day, however, they were all in for some bitter news that no one was expecting.

_**Tuesday Morning, 11:00AM**_

_**FBI Headquarters…**_

Jack was in his office working on some paperwork, when there was knock on the door. It was Martin, and Jack motioned for him to come in.

"What going on, Martin? Are you okay? We've been worried about you but you haven't answered any of our calls and you won't allow us to visit you. How are you feeling? You know that you're not supposed to be here yet. You're still on medical leave." Jack said caringly but concerned.

"I took a cab here. I just came by for a quick visit, Jack." Martin said softly as he held his pained arm which was still being held in place by an arm sling, causing Martin to sniffle softly as he removed an envelope from inside the sling.

"Martin?" Jack said very concerned as Martin sniffled softly as tears escaped his eyes. "Martin, sit down and talk to me. What's going on?" He said very concerned but Martin shook his head as he sniffled.

"There's nothing to talk about, Jack. I just came to give you this." Martin said softly as he tried to remain strong and gave Jack the white envelope. "It's my letter of resignation. I won't be coming back here and I'm leaving New York tomorrow morning." Martin said seriously as he put his badge and gun on Jack's desk, turned around and headed for the door, causing Jack to immediately jump out of his seat and block him from leaving the office.

Is this the end of Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald? Find out in the next chapter of 'Lost in the Woods.'


	13. Chapter 13

'Lost in the Woods'

**Author's Note:** Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Without A Trace or its characters. I only own the characters that I created. I also have no medical knowledge, so don't blame me if something medical is inaccurate. I also don't know how the legal system works so if anything is wrong, don't blame me. This is for entertainment purposes only. Mild bad language, maybe mild violence.

**Previously on 'Lost in the Woods'**: Jack was in his office working on some paperwork, when there was knock on the door. It was Martin, and Jack motioned for him to come in.

"What going on, Martin? Are you okay? We've been worried about you but you haven't answered any of our calls and you won't allow us to visit you. How are you feeling? You know that you're not supposed to be here yet. You're still on medical leave." Jack said caringly but concerned.

"I took a cab here. I just came by for a quick visit, Jack." Martin said softly as he held his pained arm which was still being held in place by an arm sling, causing Martin to sniffle softly as he removed an envelope from inside the sling.

"Martin?" Jack said very concerned as Martin sniffled softly as tears escaped his eyes. "Martin, sit down and talk to me. What's going on?" He said very concerned but Martin shook his head as he sniffled.

"There's nothing to talk about, Jack. I just came to give you this." Martin said softly as he tried to remain strong and gave Jack the white envelope. "It's my letter of resignation. I won't be coming back here and I'm leaving New York tomorrow morning." Martin said seriously as he put his badge and gun on Jack's desk, turned around and headed for the door, causing Jack to immediately jump out of his seat and block him from leaving the office.

Chapter 13

"If you think that I'm going to accept this fucking resignation, you're out of your goddamn mind!" Jack said furiously as he ripped Martin's resignation to shreds and threw it on the ground.

"You can shred it all you want but I'm still not coming back, Jack. I'm leaving for Washington tomorrow morning." Martin said softly as more tears escaped his eyes and then walked past Jack, causing Jeff to stop him as he shook his head and grabbed a tight hold of Martin's face in his hands but Martin shook his head softly as more tears escaped his eyes.

"All right. If you really want to do this, I'll help you, kiddo. Come on. I'll take you home and I'll help you pack your stuff. You can't do it alone." Jeff said kindly but sadly and Martin nodded as tears escaped his eyes and he sniffled.

"Jeff!" Jack said very harshly and angrily as he glared at Jeff.

"I'm sorry, Jack, but it's his choice, not ours." Jeff said seriously and then turned to Martin. "Come on, kiddo." He said sadly and they began walking.

"Jeff!" Jack said furiously and Martin continued looking forward as Jeff looked back and shook his head.

"Call Danny. Now." Jeff mouthed seriously and then Jack suddenly smiled knowingly. "Come on, kiddo." Jeff said sadly to Martin and then led him downstairs to his car.

As soon as they reached Jeff's car and Jeff carefully put Martin's seatbelt on, Martin covered his face with his good arm as he shook and began crying, causing Jeff to get in the car and soothe Martin's head like a child as he sighed heavily.

"Martin? Kiddo, why are you doing this? It's obvious that you don't want to go to Washington, especially not with your old man there. Please, just…just talk to me." Jeff said caringly but sadly but Martin didn't say anything as he continued crying. "Does this have anything to do with Danny?" He said as gently as possible and those words caused Martin to cry more.

"Damn it. Please, just take me home." Martin cried angrily and upset.

"Shhh. Okay, kiddo, but I want you to breathe nice and slow. Calm down. Even though I think you're making a huge mistake, I'll help you if you really want to do this." Jeff said caringly but sadly and then drove away with Martin.

_**BACK IN JACK'S OFFICE…**_

Jack sat at his desk and picked up his phone, immediately dialing Danny's cell phone.

"Hello?" Danny said kindly as he answered his phone.

"Danny, it's Jack. Listen, I don't have time to sugarcoat things. So, I'm going to be blunt." Jack said seriously but caringly.

"What's going on, Jack?" Danny said calmly but fearfully as he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Danny, if you want to stop your partner from making the biggest mistake of his life, you better get over to Martin's place right now. He was just here at the office. He turned in his resignation along with his gun and shield. But the worst part is that he's leaving for Washington tomorrow morning. I tried to stop him but Jeff left with him to stall him and told me to call you right away." Jack said concerned and with a very heavy sigh.

Danny felt like all the air had been sucked out of his stomach. How the hell could Martin betray him after the promise he'd made of always being his friend and always watching his back on and off the job. There was no way in hell, after the hell they'd been through together, that Danny was going to let him run away now.

"Danny, are you there?" Jack said seriously and concerned.

"Yeah, Jack, I'm here. Don't worry. I'll kick his damn ass before I let that dumb son a bitch leave. He made a promise to me and he's going to keep it." Danny said seriously as tears of anger escaped his eyes and he ended the call. "You damn coward." He seethed through gritted teeth as tears escaped his eyes once more, causing him to grab his keys and his cane and leave his apartment.

Danny drove as tears stained his pale face. He was upset at Martin's rash decision but, more so, he was angry that Martin had broken his promise and had abandoned him at the hospital. After Martin was released first, he never went back to visit Danny the rest of the month he'd spent there and he never called either. And all that resentment just boiled over after Jack's call. So, Danny hit the gas and continued driving until he arrived at Martin's apartment thirty minutes later.

Danny parked his car in the parking lot of Martin's apartment building and began a slow walk towards Martin's apartment building's front entrance.

"Good morning, Agent Taylor. How are you feeling this morning? Are you here to see Mr. Martin before he leaves?" Stan—Martin's apartment building landlord—a gentleman in his early seventies—said kindly but a bit sadly because he'd known Martin a long time.

"Good morning, Stan. Yes, I'm here to see Marty. But don't worry. I'm not going to let him leave." Danny said kindly to the old doorman and then smiled a large smile when the older gentleman's eyes gleamed with hope.

"God bless you, Agent Taylor. I hope you can convince Mr. Martin, especially when he looks so sad." Stan said kindly.

"What do you mean, Stan?" Danny said confused and concerned as they entered the elevator and pushed the button for Martin's floor.

"Well, Mr. Martin arrived with Agent Carmichael a while ago. But he was crying and shaking, so Agent Carmichael had to take him to the apartment. He looked so upset and sad." Stan said kindly but there was also a great sadness in his voice.

"Don't worry. I promise you that Martin will be okay after I finish talking to him. You'll see, Stan. I'll see you later." Danny said kindly as he smiled at the old man and then left to Martin's apartment several feet away from the elevator, causing Jeff to answer the door and see that it was Danny.

"Come in." Jeff said softly but kindly as he closed the door behind Danny, causing Danny's anger to completely melt away when he saw Martin's pale features as he cried upset on the couch and covered his face with his good hand. "Martin, you've got a visitor, kiddo." Jeff softly said caringly, causing Martin to abruptly stop crying and immediately glare at Danny when he saw Danny before him looking concerned.

"What are you doing here, Danny? Go home. You're supposed to be _**at home**__,_resting." Martin said calmly but angrily as he angrily wiped away his tears but more escaped his burning eyes.

"I'm not leaving here until we talk, Martin. Jack already told me what you did and you're going to have to leave over my cold, dead, rotting corpse before I let you be a fucking coward and let you quit your job. I'm not going to let you ruin your life by going to Washington with your miserable excuse for a father. You're staying right here." Danny said harshly as tears escaped his eyes and tears stained his face.

"Martin, I'll come back later. I'm going to head back to the office now. You guys need to talk and clear the air." Jeff said caringly and then left, closing the door behind him.

"So, what, you were just going to leave without so much as telling me goodbye?" Danny said hurt as he took a breath and tried to calm down the anger that he was feeling again.

"Just leave it alone, Danny, and go home. I don't want you here. So, get out." Martin said seriously but angrily and then turned away, causing him to hiss pained when Danny turned him around roughly and it hurt.

"Did that hurt? Good. It serves you right, you selfish bastard." Danny said harshly as tears of anger escaped his eyes. "First, you leave me in the hospital alone without so much as a visit or a phone call and now you to try to leave without telling me or anyone else. We'll, you're not going anywhere except back to the office, when your sick leave ends." He cried harshly.

"Get the hell out of here right now, Danny. I don't have time for shit. I've got to finish packing." Martin said angrily as he struggled not to cry and left to bedroom, causing Danny to seethe furiously when Martin began packing his clothes in a suitcase.

"Give me this damn thing! I told you that you're not quitting! You're not going anywhere!" Danny yelled furiously as he grabbed the now closed suitcase and threw it out of Martin's 13th floor apartment.

Downstairs, Jeff had been talking to a concerned Stan, when someone screamed, causing him to look up and immediately move himself and Stan out of harm's way just as the suitcase fell open from the impact, just a few inches from his feet.

"Danny! Martin!" Jeff yelled out fearfully as he looked up towards Martin's apartment but there was no answer from either of them. "Damn it!" He said fearfully. "Stan, pick this up and make sure that no one takes it. All of this belongs to Martin." He said fearfully and then ran to the elevator after Stan nodded fearfully, causing him to arrive at Martin's apartment a minute later. "Danny! Martin! Damn it! Open the door!" He said fearfully as he banged on the door but there was no answer, causing Jeff to kick down Martin's door. "Where the hell are you two?" He said harshly and then checked the bedroom, causing him to gasp fearfully when he saw Martin on the floor struggling to wake Danny up.

"Wake up, you asshole!" Martin cried angrily out of fear as he weakly shook Danny with his good arm.

"Martin, what the hell happened?" Jeff said fearfully.

"That stubborn jackass threw my suitcase out the window. But when he did, he grabbed his leg and head and the next thing I know, he's out cold. Help me. I can't lift him up." Martin cried fearfully.

"Calm down, kiddo. He's going to be okay. I promise. We're not going to let anything happen to Danny." Jeff said caringly concerned as he put Danny on the bed and checked his vitals, causing him to sigh heavily in relief when he felt a strong pulse. "Calm down, Martin. He's breathing and he's got a strong pulse. He probably passed out from the pain. His leg still hurts and he's not supposed to make any strong movements or heavy lifting. Now, do you have any alcohol? We can use it to try to wake him up." Jeff said caringly and then headed into the bathroom and retrieved the bottle of alcohol after Martin pointed to the bathroom.

"Danny, wake up. Come on. Wake up, kiddo." Jeff said caringly but then became concerned when Danny didn't react to the alcohol that Jeff put to his nose.

"What the hell is wrong with him? Why won't he wake up?" Martin cried fearfully as he took a tight hold of Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip.

"Calm down and breathe, Martin. Danny's going to be okay. Just give him a few minutes. The poor little guy is exhausted." Jeff said caringly as he sat Martin at the front of the bed and sat next to him as Martin shook and covered his face with a badly shaking hand as he cried, causing Jeff to sigh heavily and gently squeeze his forearm as he sat next to Martin. "Martin, I want you to be honest with me, okay. Why do you really want to leave New York? Hmm? When I asked you earlier if it was because of Danny, you started crying worse. And we both know that you can't stand to be near your old man. So, be honest with me and tell me what's going on." Jeff said sternly but caringly.

"What the hell do you want from me, Jeff?" Martin cried upset as he shook.

"I want the truth, Martin. Why do you want to leave now, especially after we almost lost you two to those damn sociopaths?" Jeff said sternly but caringly, causing Martin to quietly cry angrily as he fisted his good hand.

"Damn it. Don't you get it, Jeff? How the hell can I stay here after almost getting Danny, _**my best friend**_, killed? He never would've gotten hurt in the first place if I had kept my damn mouth shut and I hadn't of told him to come hiking with me." Martin cried upset and angrily, but also emotionally like a child, causing him to cry more when Jeff sighed heavily and embraced him protectively tight.

"Oh, Martin. Kiddo, that's not true and you know it. It wasn't your fault what happened to you guys. You just wanted to go hiking with your best friend. There was no way for you to know that those damn sociopaths were out there. There was no way that you could've known that you could've known what they were going to do to you. Besides, you did everything you could, to save Danny. He'd be dead now if you hadn't of taken care of him like you did. You're not responsible for what happened, those sociopaths are. But running away to a place that you hate so much, is not going to change things, munchkin. What you need to do is talk to Danny and tell him how you feel." Jeff said caringly but Martin shook his head as he cried more.

"I can't. I'm leaving to Washington tomorrow and that's final." Martin cried upset and very emotionally because he was so overwhelmed by everything that had happened.

"Fitzy." Danny cried weakly but emotionally, apparently he'd heard Martin and Jeff's conversation, causing Jeff to immediately lay him back in bed when Danny struggled to sit up in bed.

"Don't move, kiddo. Don't move. The last thing I need is for you to pass out again. And can I ask you what the hell you were thinking? First of all, you know that you're not supposed to put a lot of weight on your arm or your leg. And if that's not enough, you nearly hit me and Stan with that suitcase downstairs. I had to move us out of the way and it still fell just a few inches from my feet." Jeff said sternly but caringly, causing both Danny and Martin to suddenly chuckle crying amused, bringing a small smile to Jeff's face. "Smart asses." He said crossly but caringly and then chuckled softly. "I'm going to head out to the living room but I'm not leaving. Now, both of you give me your meds, you geniuses. I'm going to make you both some tea and then give you your meds." He said a bit sternly but caringly and Danny and Martin gave Jeff their pain meds as they chuckled crying amused again. "I'll be back. But you two need to talk things out and clear the air. So, talk." He said seriously but caringly and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

As soon as Jeff went out into the living room, he took out his phone and dialed Jack at the office.

"Malone." Jack said seriously.

"Jack, it's Jeff." He said seriously and with a heavy sigh.

"Hey, what's going on? How's Martin?" Jack said very concerned but there was also a tinge of anger in his voice.

"That's actually why I was calling, Jack. Danny showed up here and I was going to leave. But when I was downstairs getting ready to leave, Martin's suitcase almost hit me and Stan." Jeff said with a frustrated sigh.

"What the hell are you talking about, Jeff? What suitcase and what does Martin's landlord have anything to do with this?" Jack said crossly.

"Calm down, will you? I was talking to Stan downstairs when I was getting ready to leave. That's when someone started screaming and when I looked up, a suitcase was coming down toward us and I moved us out of the way. It still fell a few inches from my feet and I realized that it was Martin's suitcase and clothes. Anyway, I ran up to the apartment and kicked the door down because there was no answer. That's when I ran inside and found Danny unconscious on the floor of Martin's room and Martin on the floor trying to get him to wake up." Jeff said with a heavy sigh.

"What?" Jack yelled fearfully and also loudly, causing everyone in the bullpen to look to his office.

"Calm down, Jack. I got Danny to the bed. Martin told me that Danny got mad because he kept packing his clothes. So, Danny picked up Martin's suitcase and threw it out the window. When that happened, Martin said that Danny grabbed his leg and head and collapsed on the floor." Jeff said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, what happened then?" Jack said seriously out of concern.

"I tried to revive him but Danny didn't respond. Martin started crying worse and I told him that the poor little guy was only exhausted and to give him a few minutes. That's when I sat next to Martin on the bed and started talking to him." Jeff said with a heavy sigh.

"So, what did he say? Did you figure out why the little prick wants to quit?" Jack said calmly but angrily.

"Martin admitted that he wants to leave because he feels responsible for what happened with those sociopaths. He said that Danny never would've gotten hurt if he'd kept his damn mouth shut and hadn't of invited Danny to go hiking with him." Jeff said sadly and with a small sigh.

"Damn it. I should've known that something was wrong when Martin wouldn't go see Danny at the hospital after he was released. So, did you try telling him that it wasn't his fault?" Jack said concerned.

"Yeah, I tried. But he wouldn't listen. That's when Danny cried out to him. Apparently, he'd heard our entire conversation. I told them that they needed to talk and that I'd be out in the living room. So, I took their pain meds and now I'm in the kitchen." Jeff said kindly but a bit sadly at the entire situation.

"Pain meds?" Jack said concerned.

"Yeah. That little stunt with the suitcase and Danny manhandling Martin in the living room has both of them in pain. I'm just going to make them some tea and give them their meds after they talk. Maybe then they'll both get some sleep. They both look exhausted. Do you need me in the office, Jack? I was thinking about keeping an eye on them." Jeff said a bit concerned.

"Actually, no, that's what I was going to tell you. I want you to stay with those two and keep a close eye on them. I'm going to finish up here and then go over there with Sam and Viv." Jack said kindly but there was still concern in his voice.

"Jack, there's still something I haven't told you." Jeff said a bit concerned.

"What is it?" Jack said seriously.

"Martin's so determined to leave tomorrow, that everything's packed in boxes and ready to go." Jeff said concerned.

"You let me worry about that. Martin's not going to go anywhere even if I have to cuff his ass to his damn desk. Now, go keep an eye on them until I get there. And Jeff, if Martin so much as tries leaving his apartment, you cuff his ass. Is that understood?" Jack said seriously.

"You got it, Jack. There's no way in hell that I'm letting him leave." Jeff said seriously and then ended the call.

_**BACK IN MARTIN'S ROOM…**_

Martin sat at the edge of his bed crying as he covered his face and ignored Danny's calls to him. Martin was so racked with guilt over what had happened in those woods that he couldn't stand to even have Danny next to him. Although the others told him that he wasn't responsible for the attack on them, Martin felt otherwise. He knew that Danny never would've gotten hurt like he did if Martin had kept his big mouth shut. Martin had failed to protect his partner and best friend from those animals and now he had to pay for that failure. He'd quit the job he loved so much to work for his good-for-nothing father in Washington, just like his dad always wanted him to. What better punishment could there be, for what he'd caused Danny, than working for his dad, and never seeing his real family, his FBI family, again.

"Fitzy." Danny tried again as he weakly kicked Martin with his good leg but Martin refused to look at him. "Damn it, look at me." He cried frustrated. Why the hell couldn't Martin look at him? He didn't care what he had to do, but he wasn't going to let Martin run away to Washington like a coward to work for a man who caused him nothing but pain and misery his entire life. He was going to do what he had to, to make Martin understand that he wasn't responsible for what had happened to both of them in those woods. "It's wasn't your fault, Fitzy." He cried frustrated and Martin quietly cried angrier.

"Damn it, shut up. Just shut the hell up." Martin quietly cried furiously through gritted teeth as he held his head.

"You shut up and listen, damn it. **It wasn't your fault. **It wasn't your damn fault what those sick assholes did to us; to _**us**_. Do you understand me? We went out there to have to have a good time. Yeah, we ran into those assholes and they ruined our fun, but you're not responsible for that and neither am I." Danny cried sternly but with compassionate undertones.

"Just shut the hell up!" Martin shrieked crying furiously as he stood up from the bed and with his good arm, threw a bottle of perfume at the mirror, shattering it to tiny pieces, causing Danny's eyes to widen in terror as he shook and Jeff ran into the room.

"What the hell happened?" Jeff yelled harshly out of fear as he shook. He was in the kitchen pouring their teas into cups when he heard the thunderous crash.

"Get the hell out of my house and take him with you!" Martin cried furiously and then held his pained head as he let his body slide down the wall and onto the floor, causing him to cry angrier when Jeff sighed heavily and gently squeezed his shoulder.

"Calm down, tiger. We're not going anywhere. We're not going to anywhere until we get through that thick skull of yours that you're not responsible for what happened to Danny and you out there." Jeff said sternly but caringly as he put his arm around Martin's shoulder as he shook.

"Fitzy, you idiot, this wasn't your fault. But since you can't understand that let's see if you can tell me this. Would you have preferred if Carr and had tortured and killed someone else besides us and his first victim?" Danny cried sternly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Martin cried angrily as he shook and held his head.

"We both know that if Carr hadn't of come after us, he would've gone after someone else. He didn't care that we saw him kill that guy. Carr was just looking for someone to hunt and kill that night and he didn't care whether it was us, or an innocent couple taking their children camping. He was going to torture and kill whoever he set his eyes on and it ended up being us. Yeah, the sick son of a bitch put us through hell, but thanks to **you**, I'm still alive, Carr is in prison, and his slime ball cohorts are dead. Thanks to **you**, he won't ever hurt anyone else again because he's going to spend the rest of his miserable life in prison paying for what he did to us and the others. And in there's he's going to suffer a worst fate than anything he did to us." Danny cried sternly but caringly.

"None of that would've of ever happened if I hadn't of opened my damn mouth and asked you to go hiking with me. I should've just gone alone." Martin cried angrily as he buried his face in his knees.

"Let's say you did go alone because I didn't want to go with you. If you'd run into Carr alone, he would've killed you for sure and that's something that I would've had to live with the rest of my life. But that didn't happen, did it? I went with you willingly. You didn't force me to go with you. You didn't put a gun to my head until I agreed to go with you. I went because I wanted to go." Danny cried sternly.

"You got hurt because of me, you asshole. You're supposed to be my partner and my best friend and I let you down. They hurt you because of me. Why the hell can't you understand that? How the hell can you expect me to stay here and do the damn job when I didn't protect you? Well, I'm not going to stick around and watch someone else from my family get hurt because of me. I'm already packed and I'm leaving for Washington tomorrow like I planned. I already talked to my dad and he's already got a job for me working with him and he couldn't be happier that I quit that stupid FBI job." Martin cried angrily and emotionally, causing Danny to struggle until he sat up in bed and looked at Martin harshly.

"You're going to Washington with that miserable excuse for a father, over my cold, dead, rotting corpse. You're not going anywhere, except back to the office when you finish your medical leave." Danny cried harshly but then softened his voice when Martin cried worse and then took a tight hold of Martin's hand in a brotherhood and held it tighter when Martin tried pulling it away. "What you said, Fitzy, you're wrong about that. You didn't hurt me and you had my back the entire time we were out there in those woods. You took care of my injuries, you gave me food and warmth, but most importantly, you never let me give up even though at times I so badly wanted to give up and die. You saved me and I'm alive because of you, because you never gave up once until we were rescued from that hell. So, please don't ever say that again." He cried caringly as he gently forced Martin to look at him.

"And you're wrong about not having anyone's back, especially Danny-boy's. You've saved him, me, and the others countless times." Jeff said caringly.

"Look, Fitzy, either way, there's no way in hell that we're letting you go. I'm not going to lose my best friend and the best partner I've ever had, to your prick father in Washington who only gives a damn about his political career and not you. He's made your life miserable and we're not going to let you throw the rest of your life away just to make him happy. You're not quitting the force, your _**family**_. We're going to unpack all your things, and then you're going to call your prick father and tell him that you're staying here with us." Danny cried caringly.

"I can't." Martin cried emotionally and couldn't look at Danny.

"That won't be necessary, Danny-boy." Jack said seriously as he, Sam, and Viv stood at the door and tears stained their faces. Apparently, they'd caught part the boys' conversation, causing Martin to cry more burry his face in his knees.

"What happened here?" Viv said of the shattered glass all over the floor, causing Martin.

"Fitzy here got mad at the poor mirror and decided to each it a lesson." Danny cried crossly but also slightly amused, causing Martin to suddenly chuckle crying amused but then he cried emotionally again, causing everyone to soothe him and carefully sit him on the bed as he continued to cry.

Jack sighed heavily and squeezed Martin's shoulder, causing him to cry more.

"First off all, I refuse to accept your resignation, so you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine. Secondly, I called your father and we had a very colorful conversation after Jeff called me and told me how this idiot threw your suitcase out the window. Needless to say, I told him in no uncertain terms that he could shove his job for you up his butt because you weren't going to quit your job." Jack said sternly.

"Damn it. You didn't have a damn right to do that. It's my choice to quit, not yours. You can't tell me what to do. You're not my father." Martin cried angrily.

"I may not be your father, but I am your friend. I'm not going to let you ruin your life by quitting the job, family, and life that you love just so you can run away because you feel guilty about what happened to you two. I'm not going to let you become a bitter old bastard like your dad. Do you understand me? You're not going to Washington. You're going to get the help that you both need very much." Jack said sternly but compassionately and with conviction.

"What are you talking about, Jack?" Danny cried confused as he gripped Martin's hand tighter.

"Starting Monday morning, you two have an appointment with a psychiatrist and she's going to decide what the best treatment is going to be for the two of you." Jack said seriously and Martin cried more emotionally as he shook his head. "You don't have a choice, son. You're going to see her and once she clears your head of all the trauma and guilt that you have in there, you and Danny are going to come back to work in the office and then once you're completely cleared medically, you'll be allowed to return out into the field." Jack said compassionately as he squeezed Martin's shoulder.

"Just leave me alone. I'm not going back." Martin cried emotionally and pained as he held his head.

"You're not going to Washington and that's final, honey. But we're not going to keep talking about that for the moment. Right now, we need to get this mess cleaned up and give you your pain meds. You need to rest." Viv said sternly but caringly as she began sweeping up the glass.

"You guys stay with them. Thanks to this bonehead scaring the shit out me when he broke the mirror, I dropped the pot of tea on the floor and now I have to make some more." Jeff said crossly, causing Martin to suddenly giggle crying amused and it in turn caused everyone to chuckle amused also.

"That's what we want to hear from you, sweetie. We don't want to hear anymore garbage about you leaving. Got it?" Sam said sternly but caringly as she softly soothed and kissed his face.

"All right, here are you teas and pain meds. Drink up." Jeff said kindly ten minutes later as he returned to the room with tea for everyone and the pain meds for the boys, causing Danny to drink both but Martin shook his head. "Drink it right now before I cuff you and force feed it to you. You're in pain and you need to rest." He said sternly but caringly.

"Asshole." Martin cried crossly but then drank the tea and meds.

"Thank you." Jeff chuckled amused.

"Help me up. I'm going to home so he can rest." Danny said with a yawn as he tried to stand up but Martin suddenly gripped his hand tighter and looked at him fearfully.

"You can't drive while you're drugged. So, stay here and I'll go rest in the guest room." Martin said softly.

"He's right, Danny. You're not driving. But we're all going to stay here, watching out for you two. And while you two get some sleep, me, Jeff, Sam, and Viv are going to unpack all these boxes because you're not going anywhere. Let's go." Jack said a bit sternly but caringly as he led Martin to the guest bedroom, allowing him to immediately give in to sleep five minutes later.

Once they made certain that Danny and Martin were really sleeping, Jack, Jeff, Sam and Viv began unpacking all of Martin's things and putting them in there place. They remained cleaning up until seven that Tuesday evening when boys finally awakened from some needed sleep. Although they were awake, Jack didn't trust to leave Martin alone for fear that he'd leave to Washington anyway. So, the team decided that they would take shifts to keep an eye on him until Martin was more mentally stable and they were certain that he wouldn't run off.

Several days passed and Monday morning came around. It was time for the boys to sit down and start their treatment with the psychiatrist they'd been assigned to. Danny right away started talking about what had happened and answered all of the doctor's questions truthfully but Martin refused to talk to her. He was very quiet and wore an angry look on his face. He didn't want to be there talking about the hell that Danny and him had endured. He wanted to leave and never come back. After two hours, their time had come to an end.

"Can I go now?" Martin said bitterly and then looked at Danny crossly when he weakly elbowed Martin, causing the psychiatrist to smile at them.

"Don't worry about his outburst, Agent Taylor. I'm just glad that he finally said something after two hours." Dr. Nicole Lawson said with a kind smile. "So, as I was saying before, I'm going to be treating you both together at times but you'll mostly come in for individual therapy. The sessions are going to last forty-five minutes, three or four times a week. I'll be handing your boss weekly reports on your progress and once I feel that you're ready to go back, I'll clear you medically." She said kindly as they handed the boys her cards and next appointment and then smiled once again when Martin angrily shoved the card into his pants pocket and scowled angrily. "Agent Taylor, you're free to leave now." She said kindly and then stopped Martin when he tried to stand up. "I said Agent Taylor, not you, Agent Fitzgerald. Sit down. Now." She said kindly and he glared at her.

"That's enough, Fitzy. Stop being rude to Dr. Lawson and let her help you. It's not her you're angry with. It's you, even though you have no reason to feel guilty about what happened." Danny said sternly and compassionately and then sighed heavily when Martin scowled at him. "I'll be outside." He said with a heavy sigh and then left.

Martin sat there scowling angrily like a petulant child as he glared at Dr. Lawson but she just smiled warmly at him and looked through his chart.

"You're very fortunate, Agent Fitzgerald. You have a lot of people who care about you and your well being, especially your part Agent Taylor and the rest of your team." Dr. Lawson said kindly but as soon as she said that Martin fisted his good hand, causing her to smile more. She wanted Martin to open up to her, even if it was by screaming at her, because it was the only way to help him heal. "You guys are a very close-nit team, a family, and from everything I heard here today from Agent Taylor. You're very close to your team, but you and Agent Taylor share a special bond and friendship. And from what he tells me, happened in those woods, you'd do anything to keep him safe." Dr. Lawson said kindly but Martin began shaking and breathing angrily as he made a tighter fist with his good arm.

"Shut the hell up." Martin said angrily through gritted teeth but she just smiled softly and continued talking.

"I'm not going to shut up, Agent Fitzgerald. I'm not going give up you until you talk to me. I want to hear from you what happened in those woods." Dr. Lawson said sternly but compassionately.

"Go to hell!" Martin quietly cried furiously through gritted teeth.

"What happened in those woods? What happened during the times that Agent Taylor lost consciousness? How did you feel the entire time you were there? Answer the questions, Agent Fitzgerald." Dr. Lawson said harshly as she tried getting Martin to open up to her, causing Martin to suddenly grab her desk lamp and break it on the floor, causing Danny to fearfully come inside the office again.

"What the hell do you want from me? You want to know how I got my best friend and partner tortured and almost killed, when I'm supposed to look out for him? He never wanted to fucking go in the first place and he only gave in so that I'd quit pestering him! If I hadn't of dragged him out there, nothing would've ever happened to him! I would've been the only one to get hurt and not him! Is that what you want to fucking hear? Is it?" Martin yelled crying violently furious and pained as he shook and held his chest.

"Quick, close that door right now." Dr. Lawson said a bit shaken as she prepared a glass of water for Martin.

"Fitzy, are you okay? Talk to me." Danny said panicked as Martin continued crying furiously and pained.

"Calm down, Agent Taylor. He'll be okay." Dr. Lawson said kindly but still a bit shaken. She was expecting a reaction from Martin but she never imagined that he would break anything in her office. "Shhh. Calm down and breathe, Agent Fitzgerald. Breathe, nice and slow and drink this water. Come on." She said a bit shaken as she fed him a large glass of water and soothed his back until the pain stopped and he began breathing normally again. "That's it, just breathe nice and slow." She said with relieved sigh and soothed his back as Martin continued crying terribly upset. "I'm sorry that I had to do that to you, but you needed to let out those emotions eating away at you. I know that that was very hard for you but it was necessary because now I will be able to help you get better. Now, I can help you to move on from that horrible moment and I can help you to understand that you're not responsible for what happened to you and Agent Taylor." Dr. Lawson explained compassionately and Martin cried more emotionally as he shook and covered his face with his good hand.

"Is Fitzy going to be okay?" Danny questioned concerned but fearfully as tears stained his face.

"I'm going to help him as best as I possibly can." Dr. Lawson said kindly with a warm smile and then turned to Martin. "The most important thing now is that, from this moment, you don't hide your emotions from me at all. And also, it's important that you not break anything else of mine." She suddenly said with a small smile and a raised eyebrow, causing her to smile more when Danny and Martin suddenly chuckled crying and shook their heads. "Good. I don't want you breaking anything else while you're here." She said kindly and continued soothing Martin's back until he calmed down twenty minutes later. "That's good Agent Fitzgerald. Now you can leave, but I except to see you on Wednesday morning at eight." She said kindly as she and Danny helped Martin to stand up.

"I'm sorry about the lamp." Martin said with a soft sigh.

"I'm sorry for your wallet. That was a very expensive Tiffany Lamp you just broke and it's coming out of your pocket." Dr. Lawson said with a small smile and then chuckled amused when Danny whistled and Martin bit his lips as he smiled. "Don't worry about that for now. We'll discuss that another time. For now, go home and get some rest, Agent Fitzgerald." She said kindly as she led them to the door.

"Are you going to tell our boss about the lamp?" Danny said a bit nervously as he bit his lips and she smiled amused.

"We'll see, Agent Taylor. That's going to depend on whether or not Agent Fitzgerald works with me to help him get better. Now, good day." Dr. Lawson said kindly and they left chuckling.

After that tough session, and some convincing from Danny and the others, Martin decided to open up in therapy and he began feeling better. Six months passed and Danny and Martin made a complete recovery from their physical and emotional injuries. Dr. Lawson was so happy and proud of Martin for seeking help that she never mentioned the broken lamp to Jack or anyone else and didn't make Martin pay for it. She gave both Danny and Martin a clean bill of health and cleared them to return to work outside in the field a month later.

_**Monday Morning, 9am…**_

After seven months of working indoors, the boys were finally going to be allowed to work together again out in the field. But before they headed to office, they had one more stop they needed to make, if they were going to truly move on from the hell they'd endured. They had one last piece of business to take care of at Riker's Island.

As they entered the prison's gate, they didn't know that they were in for one last, unexpected surprise.


End file.
